🔗 Share this article The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – A Relaxed Tale of a Forlorn Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Genuine Charm The is a New York drama so laidback that it required a decade to arrive on the UK’s cinema screens. First released in the US in 2015, it’s an ultra-low-budget debut from debut filmmaker Charles Poekel, taking place largely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style is far too authentic-indie and naturalistic to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; in his view Christmas tree lights flash like police lights. But with its subtle approach, he positions the movie just right for a little squeeze of festive warmth. A Weary Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold Kentucker Audley portrays Noel (it took someone in the film to comment on his name for the connection to be made). Noel is back for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and sleeping in a barely warmer caravan parked next to the trees. A few customers ask about the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and on the night shift. There’s a documentary feel to many of the scenes, with customers posing idle and peculiar 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 makes it clear that he hadn't always been like this. Understated Encounters and Flickers of Connection Frankly, the plot is minimal. Noel rescues a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has passed out drunk on a bench. She reappears later in some genuinely moving scenes as Noel drives around New York, delivering trees – and these sequences could ignite a little flicker of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel has not directed 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 mood, capturing the solitude and brief connection of the season. Christmas, Again arrives in UK cinemas from 12 December.