On to day 2 of my 25 day Christmas film challenge and I already feel better about the whole ordeal. After suffering through 'A Wish for Christmas' (2016) I decided to go with something a lot more fun to lift my holiday spirits. 'Nativity' (2009) was the film of choice and it hit the spot. This is a film a find myself coming back to a lot around this time of year and I never find myself to be disappointed. The film follows Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman), a heartbroken Primary School teacher who is, reluctantly, tasked with directing the schools nativity play. When a former friend and colleague of Paul's, Gordon Shakespeare (Jason Watkins) questions the quality of his nativity Paul tells him that his old flame Jennifer (Ashley Jensen) is bringing Hollywood to see it. Suddenly he finds himself caught in an ever growing lie and it is up to him and his man-child classroom assistant, Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton), to put on a nativity worthy of the movies while also attempting to convince Jennifer to bring Hollywood to see it.
The main story arc of the film is one that is seen in almost all Christmas films. A main character who has lost his love of the season being helped to rekindle their love for Christmas through a relationship with someone who adores it. This arc is prevalent in so many Christmas films and is quite a boring one, but the film manages to change it up enough to make it somewhat original. For example, in the usually films with this type of story the new found relationship which allows the main character to rekindle their love of Christmas is a romantic one. However, in this film it is done through a working relationship between Paul Maddens and Mr. Poppy. This relationship also manages to follow the classic arc of a rom-com where the characters meet, don't see eye to eye, start to build a relationship, have a fall out and then come together in the final act of the film. The problem that the film has is that it wants to also include a romantic relationship with that same arc and it means that a lot of the emotion within these relationships isn't given enough time to build to a cathartic conclusion. I feel the film would be better served by focusing on just one of these relationships, specifically the relationship between Paul Maddens and Mr. Poppy as this is the much more interesting of the two. However, overall the story of the film is very enjoyable. Especially the build up to the nativity and the final performance. These are by far the most fun scenes in the film and the kids all help in making these fun by looking like they're having a great time themselves. It's just really charming if I'm being honest with you.
Performance wise everyone is pretty solid across the board. I mean a lot of the performances are quite over the top and hammy, but they fit into the tone of the film nicely and play off Martin Freeman's straight man well. He effectively playing the straight man in a nonsensical and over the top world and he does it very well. He also has a couple of moments of genuine emotion which hit you in the feels and its credit to him as an actor. Marc Wootton does a good job as Mr. Poppy but he is one of the actors who I am talking about when I say over the top and hammy. He is equal in that regard to Alan Carr who plays the town 'nativity critic'. Both feel very pantomime and it fits very well within the film. My favourite performance comes from Jason Watkinsas Gordon Shakespeare. He is at the perfect level of ham and is easily the most entertaining character within the film. The kids are all solid as well. None of them are exceptional but none of them are terrible either and I think that is great credit to them. Child actors can often be insufferable and with so many in one film this could have been an absolute shit show, but they all do very well. That could be a genuine description of the film. 'Could have been a shit show, but turns out pretty good'. I think that's a solid description. But it would also completely ignore the absolutely heinous cgi shot of a helicopter which plagues this film. Honestly, it is one of the worst bits of cgi I have ever seen. It looks like it has come straight from the 90s, and yet it is from 2009. A blip on an otherwise very solid film.
'Nativity' is a charming little film. As a Brit, I will always have a soft spot for films from Blighty, but this film is also just a very solid outing and captures the spirit of christmas very well. All the performances are solid, there are several good laughs and the ending set piece of the nativity is always entertaining regardless of how many times I have seen it. This is a film that I have come back to several times around christmas time and I don't see that changing in the foreseeable future. I would definitely recommend it. It isn't amazing. Not by a long way. But it is a lot of fun and has a very strong christmas spirit behind it. Definitely one to put on with the family during the cold winter nights.