Written and directed by Tyler Taormina, co-written by Eric Berger, on Christmas Eve, a family gathers for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. As the night wears on and generational tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out with her friends to claim the wintry suburb for her own. Starring: Matilda Fleming, Maria Dizzia, Ben Shenkman, Francesca Scorsese, Elsie Fisher, Michael Cera, Gregg Turkington and Sawyer Spielberg.
If you were asked to name a Christmas film, it would likely be something family-friendly, sweet, heart-warming or all of the above, Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point is not here to be one of those flicks. What Tyler Taormina and Eric Berger have created gives us a real Christmas, with all of its mess, conflict and stress. Yet, this is also not a straightforward drama, there’s a unique personality at work which brings through an offbeat and unusual tone of comedy. It somehow adds an interesting depth while keeping a quirky personality.
Within Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, Taormina and Berger are embracing the entire extended family, partners, friends, cops and the local weirdos or layabouts, no-one is off limits. That comes with its advantages and disadvantages, it brings a whole host of different personalities to the mix but there’s also just too many characters. It very much limits their ability to have a true moment, to plant their feet in a memorable way.
There are some exceptions to that, particularly Matilda Fleming and Maria Dizzia. While it’s undoubtedly an ensemble piece, they slightly take the lead, kicking off the emotional notes for each of their generations, before they’re filled out by the rest of the cast. The bigger surprise here is Sawyer Spielberg, who completely out of nowhere has a nicely reflective scene as the film comes to a close.
Unsurprisingly, Michael Cera and Gregg Turkington up the quirky quota in Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, their presence is basically entirely to feed into the offbeat nature of the tone. It’s completely unnecessary but perfectly enjoyable, like a weird detail that strangely makes sense. Although Elsie Fisher feels sadly underused here, Fisher has a great deal to add if she’s given the chance but is never given the opportunity.
However, an aspect which never disappoints is the visual. There’s a very individual personality at work with Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point. Taormina manages to capture the chaos that Christmas can be, the intense and overwhelming nature of family gatherings, adding an aspect of anxiety, helped by the editing work from Kevin Anton. Qualities that are then given more depth by the strong cinematography work from Carson Lund, delighting in the colours of Christmas, the warmth of the holidays and the cold of the weather.
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point gives us a realistic and highly relatable Christmas film, stepping away from the norm and embracing the dramatic without losing a sense of humour. It’s offbeat and quirky, the style is extremely nostalgic but not old-fashioned. It may overstuff its cast and need a bit more focus on individual characters to drive the story home, but it’s a refreshing addition to the Christmas collection of films, with a unique personality.
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