Christmas, Again Film Review – A Relaxed Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Has Genuine Charm
This is 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 an ultra-low-budget debut from first-time director Charles Poekel, taking place largely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style remains decidedly genuinely independent and naturalistic to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he positions the movie just right for a modest dose of festive warmth.
A Weary Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold
Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to comment on 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 inquire after the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and working the night shift.
There’s an observational quality to many of the scenes, with customers posing pointless random questions. One woman 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 clearly indicates that he hadn't always been like this.
Quiet Moments and Flickers of Connection
In truth, not much happens. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has collapsed 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 hasn’t made a feature since this, which is regrettable – it is unmatched for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s shot on gorgeously textured 16mm film.
A film of quiet charm and authentic atmosphere, portraying the solitude and fleeting connection of the season.
Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.
