🔗 Share this article Christmas, Again Review – A Relaxed Story of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Has Genuine Charm This is a New York drama with such a relaxed pace that it required a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. Initially unveiled 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 authentic-indie and unaffected to get 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 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 resting in a not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. A few customers inquire after the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel is alone, broken-hearted and working the night shift. There’s an observational quality to many of the scenes, with customers posing pointless random questions. A customer requests the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (the story is set in 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 Encounters and Flickers of Hope 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 some genuinely moving scenes as Noel travels through New York, delivering trees – and these sequences could spark a small glimmer of good cheer even in the most cynical viewer. Poekel hasn’t made a feature since this, which is regrettable – it is unmatched for naturalness and ease, and it’s filmed on gorgeously textured 16mm film. The picture of understated charm and authentic atmosphere, portraying the solitude and brief warmth of the season. Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.