Directed by: Zach Clark.
Written by: Zach Clark.
Starring: Anna Margaret Hollyman (Suzanne Barrington), Laura Lemar-Goldsborough (Fantasia), Lydia Hyslop (Patti), Joe Swanberg (George), Chris Doubek (Detective Ross), Marissa Molnar (Latifa), Fernanda Tapia (Fresca), Nathan Williams (Jeff Barrington), Yvonne Erickson (Mrs. Boxter - Suzanne's Mother), Leo Erickson (Mr. Boxter - Suzanne's Father).
Christmas
is supposed to be the happiest time of the year – but we all know that isn’t
precisely true for many people. Most Christmas movies rub our noses in the
perfect family holidays that we have no chance of ever replicating in our own
lives. The ones that don’t do that aggressively go the other way – a film like
Bad Santa which is just about the funniest Christmas movie ever made is also
the least family friendly one I can recall. Yet while we have had quite a few
of both of those kinds of films over the years, I’m nor sure I’ve ever quite
seen a Christmas movie like White Reindeer – which is pretty much depressing
from beginning to end, yet somehow avoids the trap of just being depressing for
depressing sake. It isn’t great movie, but it’s a hell of an effort from
writer-director Zach Clark.
Anna
Margaret Hollyman stars as Suzanne – a happy realtor, with a seemingly perfect
husband and a life that is about to take off. Her husband, a local weather man,
has been offered a job in Hawaii – and the couple prepares for one final
Christmas at home in Vermont. Then Suzanne comes home one day to find her
husband’s head has been bashed in during a robbery. Now she’s a young widow –
her employer tells her to take a few months off, and her husband’s best friend
uses the opportunity of her husband’s funeral to relieve himself of the guilt
of admitting that her husband had had an affair with a stripper a few months
earlier. Suzanne’s life, which seemed so perfect, is now in the crapper – and
she has no way to pull herself out of it.
All
of this probably makes White Reindeer sound like a depressing film. To a
certain extent it is. But a few things keep the film from being just a parade
of miserablism. The first thin is the wonderful lead performance by Anna
Margaret Hollyman. It is a subtle performance – her Suzanne never truly breaks
down in histrionics like we expect her to – there is very little crying or
raging in the film. Inside, hers is a slow implosion as she tries to distract
herself from how miserable her life has become. At first, it’s spending too
much money on clothes and Christmas decorations. Then she decides to track down
the stripper his husband had an affair with. This is Fantasia (Laura
Lemar-Goldsborough) who is not quite the hateful slut we expect her to be. She
is fairly smart – a young woman trying hard to raise her daughter, and take
care of her aging mother. Her first interaction with Suzanne doesn’t go like we
expect it to – there is no yelling or screaming, accusations or tearful
apologies. Instead the two women simply acknowledge each other – they share a
connection because they both loved Suzanne’s husband, and now he’s gone. The
two even become friends – sort of. Suzanne is a little older, and gets a little
fed up with Fantasia and her friends at times, but mainly they find a deeper
connection than we thought possible. Even this newfound friendship isn’t enough
to save Suzanne however – who will degrade herself at a party hosted by
mumblecore stalwart Joe Swanberg and his wife. I’m not quite sure I bought this
scene, but it was necessary to show just how far Suzanne has fallen.
I
admired much of White Reindeer, even if at times it strains for credibility.
Writer-director Zach Clark has talent. I did not see his previous films, but on
the basis of White Reindeer, I will be sure to keep an eye out for his next
one. The film never quite did what I expected it to – it kept me guessing, and
Hollyman's excellent performance kept the film grounded no matter what was
going in the movie. The final shot in the movie is the most hopeful one – and
shows that no matter how hard you try, you cannot make a completely depressing
Christmas movie.
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