Film Review: This is Christmas
It’s officially that time of the year where we can unapologetically spend our evenings watching Christmas films. In 2022, I spent every evening in the lead up to Christmas watching a Hallmark-esque film about the small town girl turned corporate baddie who doesn’t want to run the family business. The latter turns out to typically be a bakery, toy shop or in the top drawer classics, the Claus empire itself. This seasonal genre is a welcome sight in my entertainment bank that typically dwells in all things dark and macabre (Yes, I am alluding to my binge watching of ‘Criminal Minds’, again).
The Christmas genre
Within the snowy umbrella of “Christmas Movies”, there are however many different branches to explore. We have the aforementioned Hallmark, made-for-TV films that can only be described as pure cheese. Then we have “The Classics”, movies like ‘Home Alone’, ‘The Holiday’, ‘Love Actually’ and ‘The Christmas Carol’. Next up are “New Age Movies”, the type that streaming platforms are churning out each year such as Lindsay Lohan’s ‘Falling for Christmas’, Ryan Reynold’s ‘Spirited’ and the trilogy nobody asked for Vanessa Hudgen’s ‘The Princess Switch’.
True holiday gold
However, I will not tar all new Christmas movies with my judgemental brush as some have been absolutely top notch. The animated ‘Klaus’ on Netflix is one of the most stunning films I have ever seen. The storyline is incredible and it is an extremely emotional film for adults and children. Think ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ but without the lamas, Peruvian culture and set at Christmastime. Got it? My personal favourite from recent years is ‘Single All The Way’ starring Michael Urie and Jennifer Coolridge. It’s a LGBTQ+ film that is hilarious, cheesy, emotional and everyone’s gorgeous - it doesn’t get more festive than that.
If they’re gold, this is a diamond
I assume you can tell, I watch quite a bit of television at this time of year and I am very much always intrigued when new movies enter the genre and what they can bring to the table. So when I seen a new entry starring Dean Thomas from ‘Harry Potter’ and Effy Stonem from ‘Skins’, you can imagine my intrigue. Of course, these actors real names are Alfred Enoch and Kaya Scodelario and I’m going to say it, they’ve starred in one of the best Christmas movies of all time, “This is Christmas”.
The premise
The story follows Adam and Emma who have one thing in common, they share the same commute from Langton to London. These season ticket holders are joined on the train carriage with other supporting characters including British acting royalty Timothy Spall, Ben Miller and Ted Lasso’s Sarah Niles. Our lead actor Adam co-owns an advertising agency and is in an unhappy relationship. During a pitch to a client, he shared his idea of bringing strangers together for a Christmas party to highlight the power of human connection.
This was ultimately rejected yet it spurred Adam to do the unthinkable, speak to strangers on the train and invite them to a party. The only problem was that he had no venue, no food or drink and it looked like no guests. But with the help of chef Emma, also in an unhappy relationship, the pair get to work charming the hearts of commuters and learning more about themselves along the way.
Loneliness at Christmas
Some storylines throughout the film highlight a major societal issue many people experience this time of year, loneliness. In characters such like Spall’s Ray and Joanna Scanlon’s Linda, you see two people affected by this in different ways. For Ray, he was isolated from his family due to being a recovering alcoholic. He wanted to spend time with his grandson but relations were strained. With the support of friends, he found the perfect gift to reach out to his distant family as a bid to get to know them better.
For Linda, she was mourning the loss of her wife a few months before and discussed the incredible donations she made to charities instead of giving presents. The thought of spending Christmas alone was causing her distress yet she was given support from her new friends from the train. A relationship only formed by sparked conversation. This highlights that no one really knows what’s going on in people’s lives or what they’re feeling this time of year. The societal pressure that the holidays should be the happiest time of the year can be excruciating for people struggling and it’s always something to be conscious of.
The ultimate compliment
When this film finished, CM declared “that’s the best Christmas film I’ve ever watched”. Safe to say, I thought he was being sarcastic but I can confirm he was being honest and that’s a pretty big statement. I give this movie a huge 9/10, it’s a refreshing new concept yet completely relatable to everyone’s daily life.
Whether you share a commute with people, or see the same car travelling beside you on the way to work or are served by the same barista for your morning caffeine hit - these are shared experiences with strangers and God forbid someone break the mould and say, “hello” or wave. Set against festive background music, twinkly Christmas lights and “proper British humour”, this is a stunning film I would very much recommend you to watch.