• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

November 25, 2021 by Tom Beasley

A Boy Called Christmas, 2021.

Directed by Gil Kenan.
Starring Henry Lawfull, Stephen Merchant, Maggie Smith, Zoe Colletti, Michiel Huisman, Toby Jones, Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent, Kristen Wiig and Joel Fry.

SYNOPSIS:

The story of Father Christmas is reimagined as a tale of kidnapping, pixies and a secret elf village hidden in the snowy wilderness.

A Boy Called Christmas is one of many festive films that will no doubt be let down by its title. It feels like you’ve seen it before because it sounds like one of the umpteen Hallmark Channel monstrosities that land on Channel 5 – or, increasingly, Netflix – every December. In fact, this new fantasy adventure from director Gil Kenan – co-writer of the recent Ghostbusters: Afterlife – is exactly the sort of movie that Christmas at the cinema should be all about. It’s charming, schmaltzy and ultimately a little bit naff.

Adapted from Matt Haig’s novel of the same name, the film version provides a framing device in which Maggie Smith’s curmudgeonly Aunt Ruth – when she’s chirpily wished “merry Christmas”, she snaps back that she’s “working on it” – tells the story to her family on Christmas Eve. Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) lives with his woodcutter father (Michiel Huisman) in a poor part of Finland. Along with many of the local men, Nikolas’s dad is sent by the king (Jim Broadbent) to bring back something which conveys hope, sending them off in search of the mythical kingdom of Elfhelm. When the expedition stretches on, Nikolas and his mouse friend Miika (Stephen Merchant) venture off to find them.

The idea of a revisionist Christmas origin story isn’t a new one, with Netflix’s stunning animation Klaus perhaps the most notable recent spin on the concept. As a result, there’s something a little stale at the heart of A Boy Called Christmas that it can’t ever quite get past, despite its fairy tale spirit, amiable tone and an ensemble cast of performers with the strength to whet the appetite of any fan of recent British cinema.

Chief among the standouts is Sally Hawkins, getting a rare opportunity to clad herself in black and amp up the villainy as the tyrannical ruler of Elfhelm. She was seemingly voted in on the delightfully evil electoral pledge of “no more joy and no more Christmas” and hisses up a storm with malevolent relish, in stark contrast to Toby Jones at his most pleasant and avuncular as an elf resistance activist who takes a huge risk by bringing the human Nikolas into the village. It’s a shame, meanwhile, that we don’t get more of Maggie Smith, given how much fun she is on irascible form in the framing segments.

But as for the leading man, newcomer Henry Lawfull does a solid enough job. He doesn’t have oodles of natural charisma, but he’s believable as a wide-eyed innocent stepping into a world shaped into something ugly by the cynicism of his father’s generation. You don’t have to reach too far for the real-life parallels there. There’s a lot of fun to be had in the back and forth between Lawfull and his mouse sidekick, voiced with incongruous Bristolian wit by Merchant, though the movie spends a lot of time wandering around in the snow without ever pushing its story forward.

And that, ultimately, is what scuppers A Boy Called Christmas. Deliberately or otherwise, it reflects the feeling of Christmas afternoon, when everyone is full of food and too lethargic to ever do anything, despite the surplus of brightly-coloured decorations and red hats with fluffy, white bobbles. It’s a film that leaves you yearning to delve into the riches of its unknown worlds, but lacks the propulsion to actually get the audience there.

The movie is undemanding Christmas fare and it’s certainly not without enjoyable spectacle and fun moments of comedy, as well as some standout performances. In fact, it might be the ideal comfort blanket to reach for during that weird week between Christmas and New Year when time seems to stand still in a liminal muddle of leftover turkey, relatives hanging around slightly too long and finding pine needles everywhere. Otherwise, though, it might be better to just watch Klaus again.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.

 

Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Tom Beasley Tagged With: A Boy Called Christmas, Christmas, gil kenan, Henry Lawfull, Jim Broadbent, Joel Fry, Kristen Wiig, Maggie Smith, Michiel Huisman, Sally Hawkins, Sky Cinema, Stephen Merchant, Toby Jones, Zoe Colletti

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Best Retro 2000 AD Video Games

Philip K. Dick & Hollywood: The Essential Movie Adaptations

10 Great Slow-Burn Horror Movies To Fill You With Dread

Who is the Best Final Girl in Horror?

Eli Roth: Ranking the Films of the Horror Icon

Coming of Rage: Eight Great Horror Movies About Adolescence

The Most Incredibly Annoying Movie Characters

Forgotten Horror Movie Gems From 25 Years Ago

13 Great Obscure Horror Movie Gems You Need to See

The Bonkers Comedies of Andrew McCarthy

Top Stories:

8 Great Recent Films You Really Need To See

Marisa Abela joins Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in Highlander remake

Can Edgar Wright conquer America with The Running Man?

6 Great Australian Crime Movies of the 1980s

7 Underrated World War II Romance Movies

Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

Whatever Happened to the Horror Icon?

The Rise of Paul Thomas Anderson: A Living Legend

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

Essential Gothic Horror Movies To Scare You Senseless

Essential Demonic Horror Movies To Send Shivers Down Your Spine

Ten Essential British Horror Movies You Need To See

In a Violent Nature and Other Slasher Movies That Subvert the Genre

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket