A ‘Christmas Eve’ without comfort but lots of joy
If I told you there’s a movie involving the likes of Scorsese, Spielberg and Robards, you’d get pretty excited, right? Me, too, except in the case of “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” we’re talking about offspring, not their famous dads and granddads. But before you go shouting “nepo babies,” hear me out.
For one thing, all three – Francesca Scorsese, Sawyer Spielberg and Laura Robards – aren’t half bad playing inhabitants of a tiny Long Island town caught up in an eventful Christmas Eve eve in which traditions, angst and grievance collide. It springs from the mind of writer-director Tyler Taormina, a native Islander eager to tap into his nostalgia for a youth replete with BlackBerrys and games of Counter-Strike. But his reminiscences center on his extended Italian-American family gathering for holiday cheer at Grandma’s house.
He does an excellent job of recreating the scene, from the strings of colored lights to the vintage tchotchkes and ornaments to the bounty of pastries and other goodies. Even more relatable is how partygoers splinter off into groups: the dads drinking beer and smoking cigarettes in front of the garage, the teenagers playing video games in the basement and the moms congregating in the kitchen to chat, all while their matriarch (Mary Reistetter) holds court in her living room as members of her brood dutifully drop by to pay homage.
What sets this particular celebration apart is that it could very well be the last at this sacred abode, as Granny’s kids – Matty (John J. Trischetti), Ray (Tony Savino), Elyse (Maria Carucci) and Kathleen (Maria Dizzia) – slip off to a bedroom and heatedly debate whether it’s time to sell the house and move Mom to assisted living. It’s a dilemma countless families have faced. And it’s that relatability that engages you most as you begin to summon your own memories of when visiting Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve was something you looked forward to months in advance.
Adding to that authenticity is Taormina’s decision to fill his massive ensemble with largely unfamiliar actors who don’t fit the movie star mold. They look and behave like any of us, meaning some are more appealing than others depending on their personalities and demeanor. A few are obnoxious, others likable and some fade into the woodwork.
What Taormina and his writing partner Eric Berger seek to capture through them is how these familial assemblages can be as exhausting as they are joyful. And in the case of rebellious teen cousins, Emily (Matilda Fleming) and Michelle (Scorsese), they’re so over it that they bolt into town to hang with their other fugitive friends. But not until the neighborhood convenes at the corner to watch Santa and his reindeer streak past atop a gleaming red fire truck.
It certainly resonates. But beyond the exacting recreations of cherished memories, there’s little to latch onto. There are simply too many characters (including a couple of cops played by Michael Cera and Gregg Turkington) to establish any significant connection to them. And that includes the central theme of this being the last marking of Christmas Eve in Nana’s house.
It takes a while, but you can occupy yourself for so long people-watching before you begin to empathize with those restless teenagers longing to escape to a more entertaining environment. I reached that point about 40 minutes in. Tolerance will surely vary. Some may identify with these relatives more than others. But there’s no denying Taormina’s gift for eliciting memories of Yuletides past.
Nothing demonstrates that more than his film’s most moving scene when videotapes are dusted off and loaded into the VCR for all to marvel at their younger selves, and in some cases, happier times. Even I got a bit choked up. As Taormina likes to say, it’s a moment of “validation” for families that too easily forget how much they need each other. “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” captures that sentiment resplendently, albeit remotely – so far at times, it leaves you as cold as the fallen snow.
Movie review
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point
Rated: PG-13 for teen drinking, smoking, strong language and some suggestive material
Cast: Michael Cera, Elsie Fisher, Maria Dizzia, Ben Shenkman, Sawyer Spielberg, Francesca Scorsese, Maria Carucci, Matilda Fleming and Laura Robards
Director: Tyler Taormina
Writers: Tyler Taormina and Eric Berger
Runtime: 107 minutes
Where: In theaters Nov. 8
Grade: B-
