🔗 Share this article The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – This Laidback Tale of a Lonely Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic 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 first-time director 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 become slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he positions the movie just right for a modest dose of festive warmth. The Weary Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold Kentucker Audley stars as 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 sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan parked next to the trees. Several patrons ask about the girl working with 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 pointless random questions. One woman requests the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (the story is set in 2014). Noel looks frozen to the bone physically and emotionally; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s understated acting clearly indicates that he wasn’t always like this. Understated Encounters and Glimmers of Connection Frankly, the plot is minimal. 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 – you can’t beat it for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s shot on beautifully grainy 16mm film. The picture of understated charm and real atmosphere, capturing the solitude and fleeting connection of the season. Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.