The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – A Laidback Tale of a Lonely Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic Charm

This is a New York drama so laidback that it has taken a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. First released in the US in 2015, it’s an ultra-low-budget debut 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 in its own low-key way, he pitches his film perfectly for a little squeeze of festive warmth.

A Weary Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold

Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (someone had 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 not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. Several patrons inquire after the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel is alone, heartbroken and on 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 (this is 2014). Noel looks numb with cold physically and emotionally; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s subtle performance makes it clear that he hadn't always been like this.

Quiet Moments and Glimmers of Hope

In truth, not much happens. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has passed out drunk on a bench. She reappears later in truly poignant scenes as Noel drives around New York, making tree deliveries – and these sequences could spark a small glimmer of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel hasn’t made a feature since this, which is a shame – you can’t beat it for naturalness and ease, and it’s filmed on gorgeously textured 16mm film.