Christmas, Again Review – This Relaxed Story of a Lonely Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Genuine Charm

This is a New York drama so laidback that it required 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 remains decidedly genuinely independent and naturalistic to become slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he pitches his film just right for a little squeeze of festive warmth.

A Weary Seller in the Brooklyn Cold

Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to comment on his name for the connection to be made). Noel is back for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and sleeping in a barely warmer caravan parked next to the trees. A few customers inquire after the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel is alone, heartbroken and working the night shift.

There’s a documentary feel to many of the scenes, with customers asking idle and peculiar questions. One woman requests 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 subtle performance makes it clear that he wasn’t always like this.

Understated Moments and Flickers of Hope

Frankly, the plot is minimal. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has collapsed drunk on a bench. She pops up again later in some genuinely moving scenes as Noel drives around New York, making tree deliveries – 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.

The film of quiet charm and authentic atmosphere, portraying the solitude and fleeting warmth of the holidays.

Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.