maggibillingsviolin

I am extremely critical of Christian movies; I feel like many viewers see and value the heart and the messages in them, so they overlook what is painfully and obviously cringy when it comes to writing and acting. Because of this, I almost never watch Christian movies anymore. The only reason I even gave this a chance was because I had read the book by Francine Rivers 15+ years ago and enjoyed it, and the trailer looked decent (but I was sure once I got into it, I'd be rolling my eyes). When I initially heard they were turning the book into a movie, I was super skeptical that they'd be able to pull it off and still market it as a clean, family film, which is generally the direction these types of Christian-made movies try to go. Honestly, I think they skipped the "clean family" part and just made the film as closely to the book as possible. The setting and cinematography are truly stunning. I was LOOKING FOR bad acting and writing because of how cynical I've become about "church movies", and I'm shocked to say I didn't find it! They pulled it off. This is an objectively good film. It's not cookie cutter. There's a lot of raw, painful stuff in it. I've seen Hollywood churn out the same tired storylines over and over for money grabs, and this was just such a uniquely stunning, rich film. It's sad how little attention it's gotten, but I think viewers who are looking for a movie with depth will appreciate this one.

I think it's important to start a review for this kind of Hallmark style Christmas movie with the disclaimer that I'm not expecting it to be good. I'm not here for the quality, I'm here for something cozy and predictable to watch (and cringe at occasionally) while I drink hot cocoa.

There were definitely a couple awkward scenes and transitions, but the thing that really bothered me was Joy...I'm not sure if it's the way her character was written, if it's just how to actress chose to play her, or if this is how the actress always is, but it felt so forced to me. She was smiling and giggling almost every single scene, and that in and of itself doesn't bother me (I'm a huge smiler myself so I'm not knocking it), but it felt really noticeably fake, if that makes sense? It seemed like the director was like, "Okay, her name is Joy, so let's make that her whole personality" and then she put on this weird Disney Princess level persona. That's the best way I can describe it, is I felt like I was watching an adult woman trying to act the way a ten year old girl would if she was trying to be cast as a princess in a Disney park. Forced smiling and giggling, so much that it was distracting for me.

When I pick these types of Hallmark-esque Christmas movies, I don't expect great writing, acting, camera angles or editing. That's a given.

This one lost points because of how over the top rude Felicity is pre-Christmas spirit... she's so sulky that she doesn't even want people around her to say , "Christmas cookies", but "cookies you eat during the winter season"? And no explanation for this level of crankiness...she's just down on life and directs it all at the holiday in a very weird, specific way. Sure, give your main character a little chip on the shoulder but don't make her so insufferable. Hard to root for someone who's kinda just awful to everyone in her life because they won't bend over backward to her weird issues.