Christmas, Again Review – This Laidback Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic Charm
This constitutes a New York drama so laidback that it required a decade to arrive on the UK’s cinema screens. First released in the US in 2015, it’s a micro-budget first feature from debut filmmaker 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 get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights flash like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he pitches his film perfectly for a modest dose of festive warmth.
A Jaded Seller in the Brooklyn Cold
Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name before I twigged). Noel is back for his fifth year peddling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, working outdoors in the freezing cold and resting in a barely warmer caravan parked next to the trees. A few customers ask about the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and working the night shift.
There’s an observational quality to a lot of the scenes, with customers asking pointless random 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 weary and disillusioned, though Audley’s understated acting clearly indicates that he hadn't always been like this.
Quiet Encounters and Flickers of Connection
Frankly, the plot is minimal. Noel comes to the aid of a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has passed out drunk on a bench. She pops up again later in some genuinely moving scenes as Noel drives around New York, delivering trees – and these sequences could ignite a small glimmer of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel has not directed a feature since this, which is regrettable – it is unmatched for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s shot on beautifully grainy 16mm film.
A picture of understated charm and real mood, portraying the solitude and fleeting connection of the holidays.
Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.
