🔗 Share this article

The is a New York drama so laidback that it has taken a decade to arrive on 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 unaffected to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he positions the movie perfectly for a little squeeze of festive warmth.

A Weary Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold

Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (it took someone 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, standing outside in the freezing cold and resting in a not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. A few customers inquire after the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel is alone, broken-hearted and working the night shift.

There’s a documentary feel to a lot of the scenes, with customers asking pointless random questions. One woman wants the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (this is 2014). Noel looks frozen to the bone in body and spirit; he’s weary and disillusioned, though Audley’s subtle performance makes it clear that he wasn’t always like this.

Understated Moments and Glimmers of Connection

Frankly, not much happens. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has collapsed drunk on a bench. She pops up again later in truly poignant scenes as Noel travels through New York, delivering trees – and these sequences could spark a little flicker of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel has not directed 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.

The film of quiet appeal and authentic atmosphere, capturing the solitude and fleeting connection of the season.

Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.