🔗 Share this article The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – This Laidback Tale of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic Charm The is a New York drama with such a relaxed pace that it has taken a decade to reach 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 remains decidedly genuinely independent and naturalistic to become slushy or sentimental about Christmas; in his view Christmas tree lights flash like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he pitches his film just right for a little squeeze of festive warmth. A Jaded Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name before I twigged). Noel returns for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and resting in a not-much-warmer caravan parked next to the trees. Several patrons inquire after the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and on the night shift. There’s a documentary feel to a lot of the scenes, with customers asking idle and peculiar questions. A customer 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 understated acting makes it clear that he wasn’t always like this. Understated Moments and Glimmers of Connection Frankly, not much happens. Noel comes to the aid of 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 has not directed a feature since this, which is a shame – it is unmatched for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s filmed on beautifully grainy 16mm film. The picture of understated charm and real mood, portraying the solitude and brief warmth of the season. Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.