The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

It's ironic, but some of the best Christmas movies are those with a deep strain of melancholy under the surface. THE Christmas MIRACLE OF JOHNATHON TOOMEY is just that; a tale of loss and heartache, yet never losing the hope that is Christmas.

All the leads give excellent performances, the cinematography is solid, and the script, while not breaking any new ground, constantly draws us in. These are characters we come to like and root for!

This story of the meeting of lonely and sad people is a gentle, moving and warming tale that I think both older (8+ ?) children and adults will appreciate. The cast generally give a good performance and gel well - you can really feel the changing relationships as the story plays out. Luke Ward-Wilkinson does rather well and is very likable - he does not annoy like many child actors. Berenger also portrays Mr Toomey in a very believable way.

The cinematography is nice in many places, especially the idealistic scenes of the country village. The outside of the Toomey house looks very much like a studio set, shot from the immediate front, but this somehow adds to the overall feeling of separation and is in no way a problem. Aside from the issue of death, there are no disturbing scenes, "colourful" language, or issues not suitable for youngsters and this makes for a very enjoyable, slow paced, experience.

The film starts and ends in a Christmas setting, the remainder being time between, and so would suit a festive, wintery viewing with the whole family. The film does make you appreciate the ones you love and want to give them a hug.

It would be nice to know "what happens next" but maybe that is part of the appeal of the story - following the journey up to a point, then leaving the characters with their new start.

So beautiful, it enchanted me, it could be even darker, more intense, the childish tone made it somewhat superficial and predictable, as children's stories should be, it had the potential to be better, but the narrative, the characters and the photograph enchant. Cute and charming...

I love the book by this name. It is a beautiful story with beautiful illustrations. However, this movie is such a poor retelling of it. Many movies feel like they didn't really need to be made. They feel forced and contrived, and that's what I see here. I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as I hoped I would. It felt like everyone was just going through the motions. I wouldn't watch this again if I had to. There are so many high-achieving Christmas movies. This one falls so far short of my expectations. I didn't even feel like the adapted screenplay was appropriate. The setting felt off, even. They could have done so much better.

What a nice warm and cozy film to watch around Christmas time. Tom Berenger plays the crusty Jonathan Toomey who lost his wife and young son through a tragic accident. Mr Toomey begrudgingly agrees with a recently widowed woman Susan McDowell (played by Joely Richardson) to let her 10 year old son Thomas (played by Luke Ward Wilkenson) watch Mr. Toomey carve out a replica wooden nativity scene that the young lad mistakenly left a family heirloom behind in a train station.

Gradually young Thomas wears down Jonathan Toomey's edgy personality and together young Thomas McDowell, the widower Susan McDowell and crusty Jonathan Toomey realize while meeting at Jonathan's home each night they begin carving out the wooden pieces of the nativity, that kindness and sharing in the true spirit of Christmas can brighten everyone's lives including people who have lost their most loved family members. It is a beautiful sad story with a happy and simple Christmas themed ending. We loved it.

Watch for a young girl named Celia who is smitten by the bereaving Thomass McDowell when he moves in to the country to live with his mom and his auntie. The young Celia is actually Saoirse Ronan who went on four years later to star in the rock em sock em action flick "Hanna"