Unlikely Australian Christmas film Christmess getting rave reviews
An unlikely Australian movie is getting rave reviews from critics for not sugar-coating the holiday season.
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Christmas movies are typically light viewing tied up in a big red bow. But for some, the holiday period is not all gifts and carols.
The new Australian movie Christmess – which premieres on BINGE December 15 – shows the harsh reality of those who find the holiday period difficult – and it’s getting rave reviews from critics for not sugar-coating the season.
Written and directed by Aussie filmmaker Heath Davis, Christmess is about a once-famous actor named Chris (played by Steve Le Marquand) battling alcohol addiction who takes a job as Santa Claus at a shopping centre in the western suburbs of Sydney.
Chris has just left rehab and moved into a halfway house in Campbelltown with his sponsor Nick (Darren Gilshenan) and their musician flatmate and recovering alcoholic Joy, played by Middle Kids’ lead singer Hannah Joy in her big screen debut.
When Chris accidentally runs into his estranged daughter Noelle (Nicole Pastor) and her young son, he has a breakdown before turning to his flatmates to help him win her back just in time for Christmas.
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The ABC rates the film, saying it is refreshing to see a Christmas movie tells it like it is.
“There is no Hallmark ending here, and thank goodness for that,” the outlet writes.
“Instead, Christmess is a real, moving story about the long slog of recovery, the slow crawl of forgiveness and the glimmers of connection that keep people going — especially at this time of year.”
The Conversation says the film is a “well-crafted independent film” and “lingers in the imagination far longer than most Hollywood-scale productions”.
“There’s a subtlety to it unusual for contemporary cinema, which tends to browbeat viewers in an insufferably didactic register,” writes lecturer Ari Mattes for the outlet.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if this were at the top of lists of Australian Christmas movies. It’s undoubtedly one of the best Christmas films to emerge – from anywhere – in recent years.”
Christmess premieres December 15 on BINGE
Originally published as Unlikely Australian Christmas film Christmess getting rave reviews
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