The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – This Laidback Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Genuine Charm

The constitutes a New York drama with such a relaxed pace that it has taken a decade to arrive on the UK’s cinema screens. Initially unveiled in the US in 2015, it’s a micro-budget first feature 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 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 Jaded Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold

Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name for the connection to be made). Noel returns for his fifth year peddling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan parked next to the trees. Several patrons inquire after the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and working the night shift.

There’s a documentary feel to a lot of the scenes, with customers posing idle and peculiar questions. One woman wants the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (this is 2014). Noel looks numb with cold physically and emotionally; he’s weary and disillusioned, though Audley’s understated acting makes it clear that he wasn’t always like this.

Quiet Encounters and Flickers of Hope

In truth, not much happens. Noel comes to the aid of a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has collapsed drunk on a bench. She reappears later in some genuinely moving scenes as Noel drives around New York, making tree deliveries – and these sequences could spark a little flicker of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel has not directed a feature since this, which is a shame – you can’t beat it for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s shot on gorgeously textured 16mm film.

The picture of quiet charm and real atmosphere, portraying the loneliness and brief connection of the season.

Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.