🔗 Share this article The Film Christmas, Again Review – This Relaxed Tale of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Authentic Charm This is a New York drama so laidback that it required a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. Initially unveiled 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 remains decidedly genuinely independent and naturalistic to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights flash like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he positions the movie just right for a modest dose of festive warmth. The 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, working outdoors in the freezing cold and resting in a not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. Several patrons inquire after the girl assisting him last year. But this year Noel is alone, heartbroken and working the night shift. There’s an observational quality to a lot of the scenes, with customers asking pointless random questions. A customer wants the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (the story is set in 2014). Noel looks frozen to the bone physically and emotionally; he’s weary and disillusioned, though Audley’s understated acting clearly indicates that he hadn't always been like this. Quiet Moments and Glimmers of Connection In truth, the plot is minimal. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has collapsed drunk on a bench. She pops up again later in some genuinely moving 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 – it is unmatched for authenticity and fluidity, and it’s filmed on beautifully grainy 16mm film. A film of quiet appeal and real mood, capturing the loneliness and brief connection of the season. Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.