The Film Christmas, Again Review – A Laidback Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic Charm
This constitutes a New York drama so laidback that it has taken a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. Initially unveiled 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 is far too genuinely independent and unaffected to become slushy or sentimental about Christmas; in his view Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he positions the movie perfectly for a little squeeze of festive warmth.
The Weary Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold
Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (someone had in the film to joke about his name for the connection to be made). Noel returns for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, working outdoors in the freezing cold and sleeping in a barely warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. Several patrons ask about the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel is alone, heartbroken and working the night shift.
There’s a documentary feel to a lot of the scenes, with customers posing pointless random questions. One woman wants the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (the story is set in 2014). Noel looks frozen to the bone in body and spirit; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s understated acting clearly indicates that he hadn't always been like this.
Quiet Encounters and Flickers of Hope
In truth, 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, delivering trees – and these sequences could ignite a little flicker of good cheer even in the most cynical viewer. Poekel has not directed a feature since this, which is regrettable – you can’t beat it for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s shot on beautifully grainy 16mm film.
A film of quiet charm and real mood, capturing the loneliness and brief warmth of the season.
Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.
