In a way, the film does have issues with pacing and sometimes there are so much thrown to the viewer (who are thinking, “wow, they are all able to do this in a day or two?”). And possibly way too many characters to follow for some people. But it’s not a perfect film, it shouldn’t be. Imperfect characters, holiday chaos, anxiety but somehow things do work out for a memorable Christmas that “Christmas Survival” is worth checking out.
Click here to watch “Christmas Survival” on Amazon
TITLE: Christmas Survival
FILM YEAR: 2018
DURATION: 87 Minutes
Directed by James Dearden
Story and Written by James Dearden
Produced by Michael Hagemeyer, Juliette Hagopian
Executive Producer: Charlotte Arden, Peter Gerard Dunphy, Gareth Jones, Ana Marina Smith-Suarez, Julia Verdin, Chris Wood
Co-Producer: Chris Greenhill, Caroline Stern
Associate Producer: Jezz Vernmon
Line Producer: Liza Carmel, Kirsten Stoddart
Music by Hugo de Chaire
Cinematography by Matthias Pilz
Edited by Anuree De Silva
Casting by Gillian Hawser
Production Design by Caroline Steiner
Art Direction: Jessica Barrell, Mimi Winsor
Set Decoration by Maria Dagher
Costume Design: Victoria Russell, Sinead Skinner
Starring:
Julian Ovenden as Dan
Gemma Whelan as Miranda
Joely Richardson as Lula
Michael Landes as Trent
Sally Phillips as Miriam
Patricia Hodge as Aunt Peggy
Ronnia Ancona as Vicky
James Fox as Uncle John
Sophie Simnett as Bee
Jade Ma as Soon
Jonas Moore as Harry
Mark Tandy as Vicar
Kitty Peterkin as Daisy
Riley White as Dylan
Lochlan White as Bobby
Harvey Fisher as Tyler
Radoslaw Kai mas Witek
Two sisters and their families come together in their recently-deceased parents’ falling-down country house with chaotic consequences. Miranda (Gemma Whelan) and Dan (Julian Ovenden) are refugees from city life trying to set up a small holding with their kids, and Lyla (Joely Richardson) is a fading Hollywood star married to her alcoholic agent Trent (Michael Landes). Ancient sibling rivalries flare up again to sabotage the hope for a season of goodwill.
One thing I like to do is check out Christmas films from other countries and we have another from the UK, this time it’s the 2018 British film “Christmas Survival” (known in other areas as “Surviving Christmas with the Relatives”).
The film is written and directed by James Dearden (“Fatal Attraction”, “The Cold Room”) and has a large cast.
Starring in the film are Julian Ovenden (“Bridgerton”, “Downton Abbey”, “Knightfall”), Gemma Wheelan (“Game of Thrones”, “Emma.”, “The Wolfman”), Joely Richardson (“Nip/Tuck”, “The Patriot”, “Event Horizon”), Michael Landes (“Cruel Summer”, “Luxor”, “Final Destination 2”), Sally Phillips (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”, “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”, “Bridget Jones’s Baby”), Patricia Hodge (“Miranda”, “The Elephant Man”, “The Falklands Play”), Ronni Ancona (“Penelope”, “Big Impression”, “The Trip to Italy”), James Fox (“Sherlock Holmes”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), Sophie Simnett (“The Lodge”, “Daybreak”), Jade Ma (“Zero Chill”, “Black Widow”), Jonas Moore (“Masters of the Air”) and more.
And I found it interesting that the film was written by the person behind “Fatal Attraction”, but it’s a holiday film and I expected a film to be Christmas fun, joy and chaos.
“Christmas Survival” is a film in which Dan (portrayed by Julian Ovenden) and Miranda (portrayed by Gemma Whelan) are hosting this year’s Christmas. Both live in the house that Miranda and her family had lived in since for a long time and since her parents death, inherited the house and is maintaining it and getting work done.
For Dan, her family coming over is a bit of a headache but how bad can it be? Especially with the preparations that have yet to be done, including an installation of a new stove and getting all the food ready.
For starters, with all the work being done on the house, even during Christmas, the main thing is getting the food ready including the turkey. But the turkey is in the back yard in the coop and happens to be their daughter Daisy’s family pet, Gobbles (she doesn’t know her parents are planning to kill her turkey) and ensuring for Christmas for his children including his twins Dylan (portrayed by Riley White) and Bobby (portrayed by Lochlan White).
But also trying to get his oldest son from another marriage, Harry, to come abroad. Unfortunately, he is often stoned and needs help.
First to arrive is Miranda’s older sister, Lyla (portrayed by Joely Richardson) and her family who flew from the United States.
Lyla is an actress who has had success but is now not getting much work. She is married to Trent (portrayed by Michael Landes) but he has been unemployed for months. And accompanied by their daughter Bee (portrayed by Sophie Simnett) who becomes attracted to one of the home’s workers, the foreign exchange student Soon (portrayed by Jade Ma) and their son Tyler (portrayed by Harvey Fisher).
The second to arrive is Miranda’s sister Vicky (portrayed by Ronni Ancona) who doesn’t really get along with Lyla but is attracted to her American husband Trent.
And other family members to enjoy the Christmas holiday that will be like nothing like they have ever experienced before.
While I know the film didn’t do well in the UK, I watched it with an open mind and had to do a few rewinds to establish the characters (because there are so many in this film).
It’s important to note that this is a holiday film that probably is around the PG-13 range, primarily for the profanity, sex, older aunt with a sex toy and her dog eating Viagra and add in some inebriation and people getting high, so while the film does feature children, this is not a holiday film for the young children to watch.
Personally, compared to other films out there, it’s not so bad but I suppose for those who are hoping for good Christmas, family fun… maybe not a holiday film to watch with the kiddos.
But in a way, I did enjoy this film. Because it reminded me of youth and the Christmas family parties that I would attend. We used to have extravagant holiday events from day to night and I’m sure it was a bit chaotic with so many people coming to the house, so many family members but it was memorable for me of a time (for that magnitude of so many people and the family fun involved) that I have not experienced in a long while.
If anything, the characters are flawed and not perfect. They are going through a lot of things in their own lives and choices have to be made and things that are brought up or happen in the film that takes the characters up and down, from one of fun to low points when it goes into financial issues within family.
In a way, the film does have issues with pacing and sometimes there are so much thrown to the viewer (who are thinking, “wow, they are all able to do this in a day or two?”). And possibly way too many characters to follow for some people. But it’s not a perfect film, it shouldn’t be. Imperfect characters, holiday chaos, anxiety but somehow things do work out for a memorable Christmas that “Christmas Survival” is worth checking out.
Click here to watch “Christmas Survival” on Amazon