“Hey, how's my extended family face?” It's a question posed early on in Christmas Eve in Miller's Point by Ben Shenkman's Lenny, the father of one small part of the sprawling Balsano family. He posits it to his wife and two children and follows it up with an exaggerated, false, and even unnerving beaming smile. Coupled with a distorted montage of Christmas decorations in the residential suburbs of Long Island, director Tyler Taormina swiftly invokes feelings of nostalgic warmth and forced happiness, a curious mix that will feel strikingly true to many people's festive memories. This oddball effect continues, albeit in a less striking way than Taormina's previous film, Ham on Rye.
As you might have guessed, Taormina's latest is set on a snowy Christmas Eve. Converging on the family home in Long Island are the masses—and I mean masses—of the Balsano family. It would take up most of the review to list every character and their corresponding actors, but highlights include Matilda Fleming as Emily, Maria Dizzia as Kathleen, and Tony Savino as Uncle Ray. The explosive meeting of this family, which may be the last at the family home as it has been put up for sale, is captured in fuzzy, warm detail by cinematographer Carson Lund, whose restless, roving camerawork energises the improvisational nature of the film.
Perhaps inevitably, Taormina and co-writer Eric Berger struggle to juggle this vast array of characters; some of them are there for comedic value, which is fine, but none of them ever quite flourish into anything deeper or more complex. There are hints, such as in Ray's desperate hopes to become an author or Kathleen's strained relationship with her elderly mother, but overall, the characters of Christmas Eve in Miller's Point are just one big tapestry of mayhem without more minute or delicate parts within. The film has hints of similar energy to a Paul Thomas Anderson film, but it doesn't match the same incredible character details of those.
As generational divides and past grievances resurface, the adults drink and reminisce, whilst the teenagers of the family head out into the snow-covered surroundings to create new memories of their own. In these scenes, Taormina again shows a keen eye for depicting the strange and transformative experiences of teenagers, just as he did so vividly in Ham on Rye. In particular, Fleming excels in these latter scenes. Some intercutting with Michael Cera and Gregg Turkington's portrayal of a muted cop duo, however, feels baffling in its inclusion and at odds with the already-strange tone of the film.
The dizzying effect of watching Christmas Eve in Miller's Point is accurate of such a family occasion: so many faces, so many kissed cheeks, so many remarks at how much the young children have grown. Whilst accurate, it makes for an overwhelming filmic experience, especially when none of the characters reach the deepest potential depths of development. Whilst flawed, Christmas Eve in Miller's Point feels admirably detailed in its depiction of a suburban family Christmas. Whether it is the snowy walk to see some decorations or the men of the family gathering in the garage for a cigar, the film is an impressive portrait of a festive experience that many can and will relate to.
Christmas Eve in Miller's Point is in cinemas from November 15.