The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – This Laidback Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Has Genuine Charm
The is a New York drama with such a relaxed pace that it has taken 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 remains decidedly authentic-indie and unaffected to get 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 portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name before I twigged). Noel returns for his fifth year peddling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, working outdoors in the freezing cold and resting in a not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. A few customers ask about the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel is alone, heartbroken and on the night shift.
There’s a documentary feel to many of the scenes, with customers asking idle and peculiar questions. One woman requests 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 subtle performance makes it clear that he wasn’t always like this.
Quiet Encounters and Glimmers of Connection
Frankly, not much happens. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has collapsed drunk on a bench. She reappears later in some genuinely moving scenes as Noel travels through New York, delivering trees – and these sequences could ignite a little flicker of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel hasn’t made a feature since this, which is regrettable – you can’t beat it for naturalness and ease, and it’s filmed on beautifully grainy 16mm film.
The film of understated charm and authentic atmosphere, portraying the solitude and fleeting connection of the season.
Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.
