Film Review: That Christmas
Film
That Christmas
Director: Simon Otto
Locksmith Animation, DNEG Animation
Streaming on Netflix: 12.04
Whether or not you’re one of those people who counts an annual viewing of Love, Actually as an essential part of the holidays, there’s nothing quite like Christmas in England, and fan favorite Richard Curtis is back with another gift this year, this time in the form of an animated, warm and fuzzy, That Christmas.
Santa Claus (voiced by Succession star Brian Cox) and his trusty reindeer Dasher are making the rounds, heading to the town Wellington-on-Sea, when Santa takes on narrator duties and recounts the tale of “one of the most challenging nights of his long career.” We are then introduced to the key figures in the story, chief among them is Danny Williams (Jack Wisniewski), a new kid in town who is finding the winter to be a bit lonely, thanks to an absent father and a loving but overworked single mother, Mrs. Williams (Jodie Whittaker, Attack The Block, Doctor Who), a nurse who has mastered the art of communicating through post-it notes. Danny’s biggest wish this Christmas, other than to see his Dad, is to win the heart of Sam Beccles (Zazie Hayhurst), an idealistic young girl who has written this year’s school Christmas play, “a strictly vegetarian, multicultural fun fest with lots of pop songs and stuff about climate change,” in which her mischievous twin sister, Charlie (Sienna Sayer), plays Joseph.
Sam’s wish is to keep the town’s turkeys off the dinner tables and troublemaker Charlie off Santa’s naughty list. The play’s director, tween Bernadette McNutt (India Brown) just wants the chance to prove herself as a responsible, blossoming adult, and perhaps shake things up a little when it comes to stodgy Christmas traditions. When a blizzard hits town, school is out for all the children except for Danny, who shows up anyway, as does his teacher, Miss Trapper (Fiona Shaw, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, IF). Their day spent together leads to an unexpected bond forming. On Christmas Eve, a group of parents carpool to a wedding in a van, taking the ferry to the mainland and leaving Bernadette in charge. Another blizzard hits, causing unexpected complications that separate them from their children, who are left to fend for themselves on Christmas Day, and when one goes missing, it may take a miracle to make this a happy holiday.
Director Simon Otto makes his feature debut after helping with episodes of Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia and Love, Death & Robots, and he handles the visuals and pacing with expertise. This is, first and foremost, a Curtis movie, however, the writer’s winkingly clever and earnest to the point of cloying signature style has earned him dedicated fans and fierce detractors. I’ve jumped back and forth between the two throughout his career, but thankfully, he’s very well suited to a heartwarming holiday family film. That Christmas is a charming film that benefits from keeping Curtis within PG boundaries and plays to two of his biggest strengths: snappy dialogue and lovable characters.
The dynamic between Danny, his mother and Miss Trapper is quite touching, and That Christmas earned a lot of points from me with the Sam/Charlie relationship. As an identical twin myself, I find phony fictional twins written by “onesies” (a derisive if light-hearted term for non twins that I only just now made up) to be nerve-grating. Sam and Charlie rank up there with Fred and George Weasley on my list of all-time favorites, and the way their story plays out made the movie for me. The important grownups are all quite strong, particularly Whittaker and Shaw, and Cox’s wise, loving Santa is a highlight. Frequent Curtis collaborator Bill Nighy (Love Actually, About Time) is given little to do but still adds to the proceedings through a small role as Bill, the local lighthouse keeper.
That Christmas is a thoroughly entertaining (if schmaltzy) festive treat with just enough quirkiness and humor to earn an enthusiastic recommendation, especially as a cozy little evening-at-home streaming film. It remains to be seen if it is embraced as a new seasonal classic, but I’ve already watched it twice, and it’s earned a spot on my rather unwieldy yearly viewing list. –Patrick Gibbs
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