'R Xmas

Abel Ferrara is a great filmmaker, hands down. His earlier works are more violent and mean but great films don't always have to be nice. His later works are toned down but the story and characters are carrying the movie nd no exception to this is his R'Xmas. Well acted and shot great. The shots are interesting and worth watching the film alone simply because the camera movements are helping to tell the story when the characters are not talking. Good flick. ***1/2 out of *****

I recently viewed 'R Xmas (2001) on Tubi. The storyline centers around a couple, relying on drug-related income, searching for a Christmas doll for their daughter. The husband goes to extreme lengths to find the doll, leading to his kidnapping by a rival drug gang. The wife must take drastic measures to save her husband and salvage Christmas.

Directed by Abel Ferrara (King of New York), the film features Ice-T (Newport Jack City), Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Lillo Brancato (Crimson Tide), and Victor Argo (Raw Deal).

Abel Ferrara's vision for this project seems unclear. While the premise had potential, the execution falls short. The storyline and circumstances could are compelling, but the delivery misses the mark. The mother's desperation isn't effectively established, and the portrayal of the drug dealer lifestyle lacks the dramatic intensity it could have had. The repetitive dialogue, centered on tiresome racism conversations, feels inauthentic.

In conclusion, 'R Xmas had potential based on its premise but fails to deliver. I would give it a score of 3/10 and recommend skipping it.

'R Xmas is one of the only films I've seen where I can almost say that simply nothing happens.I felt as though I watched a drug dealing middle- class couple,with child,walk around,eat,smoke,converse(excuse me,swear)through most of the film.And I don't believe I'm missing the point.I think this film was well directed,well acted(although the husband's performance was rather wooden),and the constant feeling of impending doom around every corner certainly kept the viewer involved.But when the dust clears,your left with zero(just a boat-load of fade outs).I didn't want car chases,gun violence,beatings,etc.In fact,I'm sick of violence.But my goodness,let's at least get a bit deeper into all these characters(let's get to know each of these corrupt officers a little better-not just show glancing shots of them as street thugs).Why was the dialogue so juvenile? Everyone spoke as if they were in junior high.I believe even this side of our human race can say something other than fu_ _,sh_ _,etc.The pacing and the storyline of 'R Xmas I found quite interesting,but the execution was plain and simple-empty.4/10

I don't know what has happened to director Abel Ferrara. Ever since the "Body Snatchers" remake he seems to have lost it. "King of New York" and "The Bad Lieutenant" remain two of the best films of the '90s: searing indictments of a decade gone wrong. With films like "'R Xmas" (whatever that means) and "New Rose Hotel" he seems determined to disgust and bore his former supporters. This film has NO LIFE in it. While he gets excellent performances out of his actors in all of his projects the result of this mishmash of ideas just doesn't jell. Whatever the point is -- that the new breed of drug dealer is more or less the same as any other upper middle class New Yawkuh -- gets lost in the mind numbing script and boring direction.

I saw this opening night at the 4-Plex in downtown L.A. In the lobby, while buying tickets, I was surprised and delighted to see it filled with a large, racially mixed group of men and women in their twenties and thirties. Then they started into the theater but it was the theater that was featuring "8 Mile" not "'R Xmas"! The theater showing "'R Xmas" (keep in mind, this was opening night!) had a total of 4 people watching it, myself, my wife and two others!

Way to go, Abel!

2/10

Ferrara does not know how to make an uninteresting movie. Whatever you think of the content of his films, everything he does is a stylish, riveting exercise in visual story telling. This movie is no exception. There's surprisingly little dialogue, but what there is sings with a sense of modern city life. The aural and visual atmosphere of New York City, both upscale and downscale, is rich and multi-layered, and the characters seem like people you've seen on the street, or in stores, or in clubs, many many times. I don't know how "real" the action of this movie might be, but it seems as real and believable to me as anything I've seen on screen in a good long while. This is the perfect holiday movie for 21st century America, and a near-ideal expression of the meaning of modern Christmas.