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

The is 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 an ultra-low-budget debut from debut filmmaker Charles Poekel, taking place largely 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 pitches his film just right for a little squeeze of festive warmth.

The Jaded Seller in 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 is back for his fifth year peddling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, working outdoors in the freezing cold and sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan parked next to the trees. Several patrons ask about the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel works solo, broken-hearted and on the night shift.

There’s an observational quality to a lot of the scenes, with customers asking idle and peculiar questions. One woman wants the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (the story is set in 2014). Noel looks numb with cold physically and emotionally; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s understated acting makes it clear that he wasn’t always like this.

Understated Moments and Flickers of Hope

Frankly, the plot is minimal. Noel comes to the aid of 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, making tree deliveries – 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 authenticity and fluidity, and it’s filmed on beautifully grainy 16mm film.

A film of understated appeal and real mood, capturing the loneliness and brief connection of the holidays.

Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.