It’s already the time of the year to get-together as families and enjoy the upcoming Christmas season …or that is what Tyler Taorima’s film would have you believe.
Still from the pic
Film: Christmas Eve In Millers Point
Cast: Matilda Fleming, Maria Dizzia, Ben Shenkman,
Francesca Scorsese, Elsie Fisher, Lev Cameron, Sawyer Spielberg, Gregg Turkington, Michael Cera
Director: Tyler Taormina
Rating: 2/5
Runtime: 106 min
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It’s already the time of the year to get-together as families and enjoy the upcoming Christmas season …or that is what Tyler Taorima’s film would have you believe. This film is neither a romance, a light-hearted comedy nor an emotional drama. It lies somewhere in between, unrealised in its potential, just waffling along suffused with seasonal gaiety and family dynamics.
On Christmas Eve, the Balsano family gathers for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. There are no stars to power this, no familiar faces even, so it feels like we are watching a home video about a family coming together to celebrate Christmas.
Set in the 1970’s, the large family Christmas gathering is happening in Millers Point, Long Island. Family members from all corners keep trickling in. We get to know whatever little bits of story there are from the conversations we hear. There are heated discussions about whether the family matriarch needs to be moved to an assisted living facility, if not who should take on the responsibility for her care, whether or not the family home should be sold, etc. The members all try to put their points across. There’s jostling around, joking, secrets, grudges, teens playing truant, a table load of food and sweets being prepared, gifts being carried over to the Christmas tree, rushing outside for the annual Christmas parade, caroling etc. That’s the usual stressful Christmas stuff.
The kids have their bits of fun with a player piano, a pet iguana, an electric train, video games, and their dozing grandma on a chairlift being sent up and down just to keep her and themselves entertained.Some of the men escape to the garage for a cold beer, one uncle plays the piano and blasts out a Christmas carol, another uncle cooks up a storm and wants everyone willing to listen, to know how he does it. Another uncle sits with the kids and regales them with stories, yet another uncle, a budding writer, gets outed when his draft story gets read out aloud, some are watching home movies and some others are guessing and opening Christmas presents. Outside we see two goofy cops (Michael Cera, Greg Turkington), trying to pull off a comedy routine - which is way too obvious and unfunny. The narrative is teeming with people and a lot of talk but in actuality there’s nothing really dramatic happening here. We don’t know who is related to whom? Too many characters and too little involvement from the audience can ring the death-knell for a movie experience. You can see that the family members are having their own brand of fun but the audience feels alienated from it all.
This is a strange, unconventional film that sits somewhere between a docudrama and a home video. Cinematographer Carson Lund lends a retro look and feel, the soundtrack is filled with 1960’s music - not the regular familiar Christmas tunes, and the writing doesn’t go beyond what is obvious. This film manages to capture the chaos of family gatherings well…but what's the point you may well ask?
There’s no driving central narrative, no main character to root for, the camera just glides around capturing faces and spurts of conversation. There’s no room for the audience to get involved in any of the conversations or emotions. It all feels rather alien and uninviting. The best that can be said about this film is that it gets the aesthetics, ambience and mood right. There’s nothing else to it!
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