Christmas movies are not my bag. I have my reasons. That said I do have an appreciation for movies that sort of subvert the saccharine cheeriness. If you are into said cheeriness, I don’t blame you. If you are like me and perhaps want something that could be construed as “festive,” I have a few here for you. Tim and I touched on this when we talked about Batman Returns this summer. My focus here are movies where the stories are enhanced by the Christmastime setting. No offense Die Hard fans, but that could have easily been any day of the year. Same with my actual favorite “Christmas” movie Edward Scissorhands.
Unlike my Halloween picks, these won’t play well at your holiday party.
Eyes Wide Shut
Kubrick’s last film, is surprisingly more “Hollywood” than expected. Yes, it still has that Kubrick misanthropy, but the film stars then husband and wife Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Director Sidney Pollock has a prominent role as well. Cruise plays a man who is finds out that his wife has very human desires and he spends the film dealing with that in not the most healthy way. There is much talk about a party he attends, but there might be too much focus on that. A lot of Big Stan’s flicks examine toxic masculinity, and this one is no exception. Of my selections, this could not take place at Christmastime and still work, but I think that setting adds a certain moroseness that really impacts the drama. I admit this one might be a little heady for your holiday.
The Silent Partner
I just watched this for the first time this year, and it might be my favorite of the bunch. A rare Christmas neo noir starring Elliot Gould as a bank teller who discovers that a mall Santa, Christopher Plummer, is planning on robing his bank. Instead of telling the cops, he pockets a large sum of money himself and it gets assumed that what Gould stole was part of Plummer’s haul. When the media reports how much was stolen, Plummer does some math and he starts coming after Elliott Gould. Seeing a mall Santa rob a bank is quite the image. Based on a novel and adapted by Curtis Hanson, who would make go on to direct L.A. Confidential, which could also be viewed as an alternate holiday flick.
Carol
Therese meets Carol at the department store she works at and they get swept up in a romance. It’s the 1950s however and that sort of romance isn’t exactly accepted. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara give really fantastic performances. It feels like a companion piece to director Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven. One could make the case that this didn’t need to take place at Christmas, but the 1950s holiday décor along with Edward Lachman’s superb cinematography give this a nostalgic feel not unlike Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story, but with a more grown-up hue. Also this has the most festive sounding title to boot.
Christmas Evil
As a horror fan, I felt I needed to give you one yuletide terror. Gremlins is cool and all, and Bob Clark’s Black Christmas might be the best holiday horror film, but Christmas Evil offers a fascinating character study. This isn’t a Silent Night, Deadly Night kind of evil Santa. Honestly, I think John Waters puts it best:
I think that’s better than the trailer.
Hope these add a little extra flavor for your holidays.
~Andrew