The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – A Laidback Story of a Lonely Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic Charm
The constitutes 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 an ultra-low-budget debut from first-time director Charles Poekel, set almost entirely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style is far too genuinely independent and unaffected to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; in his view Christmas tree lights flash like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he positions the movie just right for a modest dose of festive warmth.
The Weary Seller in the Brooklyn Cold
Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (someone had in the film to comment on his name before I twigged). Noel returns for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, working outdoors in the freezing cold and resting in a barely 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 a documentary feel to a lot of the scenes, with customers posing idle and peculiar questions. A customer requests the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (this is 2014). Noel looks frozen to the bone physically and emotionally; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s subtle performance makes it clear that he hadn't always been like this.
Understated Moments and Glimmers of Hope
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 travels through New York, delivering trees – and these sequences could spark a little flicker of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel hasn’t made a feature since this, which is regrettable – it is unmatched for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s filmed on gorgeously textured 16mm film.
A film of quiet charm and authentic atmosphere, capturing the solitude and fleeting connection of the holidays.
Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.
