CHRISTMAS AT MILLER'S POINT
US, 2024, 104 minutes, Colour.
Matilda Fleming, Maria Dizzia, Ben Shankman, Francesca Scorsese, Michael Cera, Greg Turkington, Sawyer Spielberg.
Directed by Tyler Taormina.
Very American. Very, very American. Christmas Eve at a Long Island town, winter, snow, American Christmas traditions.
This is very much a film for American audiences, audiences from other countries and cultures observing, not necessarily identifying. In fact, many American audiences have not responded well to the film, uninteresting, boring… (And, if this is the case for some Americans, it is probably true for non-American audiences.)
This is the response to the film as a fiction. Had it been presented as a documentary, the approach of the audience might have been much different, observing, comparing, checking out American characters, communications, manners. There would have been a reason for looking at the film. It should be said that a number of reviewers commented very favourably on the film. Bloggers did not.
The film certainly sets the atmosphere of Christmas Eve on Long Island and the town. The focus is on the extended family gathering for celebration, the meetings, delineation of characters, conversations, some themes taken up and then lost in the crowd. There are the different generations as well. There are discussions, drinks, the elaborate meal in conversations, the beginnings of a discussion about aged care for the grandmother but then other conversations supersede. The adults are generally at home, sometimes venturing out into the evening of the snow.
The very young generation stays with the family. The teenage, younger teenagers, go out into the town, meet up with locals, conversations, some teenage daring, and then some pairing up in the cars.
While this is presented as typical Americana, films in other parts of the US, in different cultures, Hispanic or African-American, the states in the South…, There would be a lot of differences.
Throughout the film there are two policeman, generally silent, looking like caricatures, sitting in their police car, observing, played by Michael Cera (who produced the film) and Greg Turkington, seemingly from another film. And, unexpectedly, there is the conversation about mutual attraction, the implications for their relationship. Definitely for another film!
So, for non-American audiences, something of a curiosity item.
