Christmas, Again Film Review – A Relaxed Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Genuine Charm
The is a New York drama with such a relaxed pace that it required a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. First released in the US in 2015, it’s a micro-budget first feature from debut filmmaker Charles Poekel, taking place largely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style remains decidedly genuinely independent and naturalistic to become slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights flash like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he positions the movie just right for a modest dose of festive warmth.
The Weary Seller in the Brooklyn Cold
Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name before I twigged). Noel returns for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. Several patrons inquire after the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and on the night shift.
There’s an observational quality to many of the scenes, with customers posing pointless random questions. One woman wants the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (this is 2014). Noel looks numb with cold in body and spirit; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s understated acting clearly indicates that he wasn’t always like this.
Understated Encounters and Glimmers of Connection
Frankly, the plot is minimal. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has passed out drunk on a bench. She reappears later in truly poignant scenes as Noel drives around New York, making tree deliveries – and these sequences could ignite a little flicker of good cheer even in the most cynical viewer. Poekel hasn’t made a feature since this, which is regrettable – it is unmatched for naturalness and ease, and it’s shot on gorgeously textured 16mm film.
A film of quiet appeal and authentic atmosphere, portraying the solitude and fleeting connection of the season.
Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.
