Christmas at Plumhill Manor

Yet another Christmas movie that I had never even heard about. But then again, Christmas movies is not exactly high on my list of interests. But every now and again do I go all in during December and bingewatch far too many Christmas movies. And 2024 turned out to be one such year. And thus, I came upon the 2024 movie "Christmas at Plumhill Manor" from director Brian Herzlinger.

Truth be told, from the movie's cover alone, I figured that I would be in for a rather generic sappy Christmas movie. But I still opted to watch the movie, and let writers Daniel Levin, Megan Henry Herzlinger and Avery Henry-Bailey have the benefit of the doubt; perhaps they would surprise me with something grand here.

The storyline in the movie ultimately failed to entertain me. The contents of the storyline was just not interesting, nor were the characters particularly memorable or likable. So the movie fell short of entertaining me.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. Despite the fact that the storyline wasn't my cup of eggnog, then I will say that the acting performances were indeed fair.

Now, I am sure that there is an audience out there for this movie, especially those hardcore lovers of sappy Christmas movies. I just didn't enjoy the movie, and I will never return to watch it a second time.

My rating of director Brian Herzlinger's 2024 movie "Christmas at Plumhill Manor" lands on a three out of ten stars.

This film made me laugh a lot! The leads both did well with their insane plot and managed to be quite charming. As soon as she gets to England the mad accents and cliches are just great - the annoying housekeeper(maybe? She seems to do everything in the village) who's insanely scottish despite this being suffolk, the pub scenes, the bell ringing, the xmas pudding class, the hero's pet lamb - all completely mental. Many things make no sense - why focus so much on the gardening when it's all wrong? The "snowdrops" that aren't (they're aquilegias) and it is clearly summer flowers everywhere, and the plastic poinsettias they plant up...plus the "norman" arch that is gothic, a hidden "castle", some really strange ideas about "residential taxes" that don't exist in the UK, no concept of planning laws for historic buildings and yet then a bizarre fantasy about the national trust saving the day (if only that was really possible!). I really enjoyed it! Well worth watching! I can see the manor exterior and gardens is the beautiful Crow's Hall in Suffolk as others have said, but none of the interior scenes look very convincingly old. Just adds to the weirdness! Enjoy!

"Christmas at Plumhill Manor" repackages the typical Hallmark holiday formula-saving an inheritance, a hotel, or a farm-but this time it's set in an old English manor. The film maintains the usual cheerful holiday spirit, although the character Jackie was particularly annoying, and didn't quite resonate as a believable figure from England-perhaps more fitting for a remote Scottish village.

What really detracted from the film's authenticity was its disregard for local UK laws regarding historical properties. Most buildings from the 1700 to 1840 period are listed in the UK, meaning they cannot be modernized in ways that alter their historical character, such as changing windows or doors, or even repainting. The film overlooks these restrictions, which is a significant oversight given the plot revolves around preserving and potentially upgrading a manor.

Additionally, the film misrepresents UK property tax laws, UK has no property tax, just a stamp duty paid once upon the acquisition of a new property such as a VAT, there is inheritance tax exemptions for listed buildings or for non UK domiciled individuas, and the only debt possible would be by not paying the local council tax (used for garbage collection and maintenance of various local public spaces such as schools, libraries, parks, roads and more). But even this would cause the fury of the local council to summon you to court after missing two payments. Years of unpaid council tax is very unlikely.

This lack of attention to detail might not trouble everyone, but for those familiar with UK laws, it breaks the immersion.

Despite these inaccuracies, if you can look past the legal and geographical liberties, the movie does offer the quintessential cozy Christmas charm expected from a seasonal film.

This is the first Christmas movie I couldn't make it through this season. I only lasted until the first pub scene.

The redubbing of Margot's lines near the beginning was painfully obvious. The words just didn't match the mouth. And she just seemed so harsh and unlikable.

What finally drove me out was the annoying character of Jackie. Her over the top cheerfulness and overacting was really grating. I couldn't understand half of what she was saying. And those giant teeth were very distracting.

I obviously can't comment on the rest of the movie but I'm sure there was some kind of misunderstanding with 20 minutes left that threatens to blow everything apart. Followed by the "follow your heart" speech and a kiss with one minute left. Just going on on a limb there.

Skip this one.

There are lovely views of Crow's Hall in Suffolk in late Spring - cow parsley, ox-eye daisies and so on, which mysteriously morphs into winter. But so corny! And how could a supposed expert in architecture mistake a gothic arch for a Norman one? Some of it was filmed at Shrublands Park in Suffolk, bits in Ipswich and in a pub I couldn't identify. Clearly the writers know little about British planning regulations, taxes or architecture. A six-storey hotel on a moated 16th century plot? I think not! Property taxes mounting up? No. A castle lurking unsuspected behind a door? You're joking! Sadly I shan't be recommending it... a group of us watched it and managed to last to the end, but it was tough going.