After last year’s Alternative Christmas Film Advent Calendar’s globetrotting venture this year things settle in to spend Christmas at home. There are a good deal of classic British Christmas films, and plenty of festive features which love to pitch a rom-com in London or a castle in the country, but this year the Calendar grabs a mince pie and takes a look at some lesser known or thought of British Christmas films.
Every Christmas theatres treat packed audiences of all ages to pantomimes (‘oh no they don’t’, ‘oh yes they do’) and interpretations of A Christmas Carol. What’s perhaps lesser found amongst the festive offerings is Shakespeare. Yet, Kenneth Branagh’s affectionate love letter to ‘theatre-types’, the flamboyant and the dramatic, In The Bleak Midwinter (also fittingly called A Midwinter’s Tale in some countries) sees struggling actor Joe Harper (Michael Maloney) attempting to put on a production of Hamlet in an abandoned church in his home village – pointed out as being ironically named Hope.
The aim is to save the church, a much less opportune space than the better one a short distance down the road, with the proceeds from the production. However, Shakespeare doesn’t quite appeal to the local residents, especially the target youths, as ticket sales fail to take off while rehearsals descend into chaos. Personalities, and personas, clash in hilarious fashion as everyone has a different view on what the production should be, and what each character should be like. As Christmas gets ever closer – with the cast and very limited crew shacking up in the church and spending their Christmas with each other and the play – it feels as if failure is constantly around the corner, as if the play is going nowhere and that everyone is putting their time into this for nothing.
A brilliant cast of British talent (including Richard Briers, Joan Collins, Celia Imrie, Julia Sawalha, John Sessions and Jennifer Saunders – just to name a few) capture the clashes between the characters in big, aware-of-stereotype and caricature, performances. There’s plenty of humour to be found amongst the self-awareness and the ways in which people gradually come together as people and then to put on a great production. People coming together is a strong theme in many Christmas films, and has been a consistent point amongst the titles in this year’s Calendar.
With little to do in the village and not much to talk about over food the group of strangers are seen left to their own devices when not rehearsing, trying to make the best of what’s around them. Conversations allow them to naturally break their own characters and open up to each other – particularly in a rather effective way between Briers and Sessions’ characters, often seen bickering, teasing and hurling insults at each other in front of everyone else – making for a stronger production unit dedicated to putting on the best play possible, even if nobody turns up. The self-awareness continues throughout as the Christmas Eve debut approaches. By the end, there’s a rather likable festive feeling to the final scenes bringing in Christmas Day with performance and unity.
In The Bleak Midwinter can be watched in the following places:
Amazon
Apple TV/ iTunes
Rakuten TV
To see if there is anywhere else to buy, rent or stream the film, particularly if you’re in another country, JustWatch is a good place to check out.
Just A Little Bit Random 