It’s an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone’s plans, including Santa’s.
Chuck says:
Based on three different English children’s books, Simon Otto’s animated feature “That Christmas” has its heart in the right place, as it attempts to deliver a proper dose of holiday sentimentality. Unfortunately, it’s all a bit of a bore. Erratically paced and featuring far too many characters who are more grating than sympathetic, the movie’s 91-minute running time seems interminable, a chore to get through rather than a pleasant diversion.
A perfect storm of events occurs in the town of Wellington-On-The-Sea, a tight-knit community with a diverse populace. The annual Christman pageant is being staged by the woke, effervescent teen Bernadette (voice by India Brown), a production in which the newest student, Teddy (Freddy Spry), is feeling a bit out of place in. He has a crush on Samantha (Zazie Hayhurst), a kind young girl who’s as withdrawn as her twin sister Charlie (Sienna Sayer) is extroverted. This production is overseen by the stern Ms. Trapper (Fiona Shaw) and is the last thing that goes off without a hitch before Christmas.
A massive storm rolls in, which slows Santa (Brian Cox) down and leaves a group of parents stranded and unable to reach their kids. Meanwhile, Teddy’s mother (Jodie Whitaker) has been called into work on Christmas Eve and Day, leaving her poor son alone. Seems his father left them both earlier in the year. In addition to all this trouble, Lighthouse Bill’s (Bill Nighy) mother is dying, a bunch of turkeys are on the loose, creating havoc and a toddler has wandered out and gotten lost in the storm.
The screenplay by Peter Souter and Richard Curtis, who authored the original books, is a messy construct. In trying to combine three different storylines, the narrative structure becomes bloated and ungainly. With a trio of storylines building to their respective climaxes instead of one, there’s a “one-step-forward, two-steps-back” pace to the film that not only proves frustrating but ultimately undercuts it. Having to cut back and forth between these myriad tales leads to disengagement, and ultimately, fatigue.
Not helping matters is the unappealing nature of so many of the characters. Whether over-enthusiastic, unnecessarily dour, or needlessly stern, they are, by and large, an unappealing group. As such, any time spent with them only increases the movie’s ever-increasing irritation quotient.
That’s too bad, as there are times when it is effective. Teddy’s plight is the most relatable, the kid’s sense of abandonment, palpable, his mother’s efforts to assuage him, heartbreaking. The boy’s search for acceptance is touching and once his storyline comes to an end, it resonates where the others fall flat. Had Otto and his screenwriters concentrated on this story alone, they might have had something. As it is, “That Christmas” ends up being a production that fails to succeed due to its unrealistic ambitions.
1 1/2 Stars
