Now This Is Christmas (2022), but I am getting ahead of myself.  At the same time, you can hardly blame me.  We are only a few films into The Legionnaire’s holiday blitz and there have been few variations from the usual romantic comedy in a holiday setting fare.  Today’s example falls firmly in that category.  Yet, that staging includes selfless acts that, in this Catholic’s humble opinion, speak better to the true spirit of the season than simply “boy meets girl” and it just so happens to be Christmas.  I make this claim, too, despite the fact that it has little to do with Christianity.  The best we get in that regard is a number of carols that are Christian themed rather than the ones talking about magical snowmen or buying presents for spoiled brats.  Forgive me for not being charitable.  Hopefully, I can make up for it by describing to you this predictable but satisfying movie.

It does not take much for Adam (Alfred Enoch) to be satisfied, especially in the days leading up to when everyone can officially say This Is Christmas.  That is not to say that his life is without frustrations.  His relationship with Amanda (Alexandra Roach) is one.  A point of contention we learn later is his desire for children, a desire she does not share.  More immediately, she believes his fraternizing with the people on the commuter train to London on a daily basis is foolish.  One of those fellow passengers is chef Emma (Kaya Scodelario).  They recognize each other from having occupied the same car on a number of days, but have said little to one another.  As he returns from a day at the advertising firm at which he works, the alienation he has from all these familiar people sticks with him.  Walking through the suburban town, he notes the holiday dance in the community hall and it gives him an idea.  Though his co-worker, Paul (Robert Emms), thinks Adam is crazy, the latter proposes a Christmas party to bring together the supposed strangers from his fellow commuters in order to highlight the season of bringing people together.  Also not keen on the notion is Miranda (Rebecca Root), Adam’s boss, who finds it interesting but in need of development.  Undeterred, Adam discusses the potential soiree with Amanda, but this is mostly to find an open day on their busy social calendar.  Once this is found, he brings it up in their carriage to a muted response.  The only one who gives an assent is Emma.  With her boyfriend, Simon (Jeremy Irvine), in Chicago ahead of their move to the United States, she has little else to do in the days leading up to the appointed day of December 22^nd.  With Amanda also disinterested and busy with her own activities, Adam and Emma are free to spend a great deal of time planning the party together.  It is her participation that begins to get the others if not interested in helping, then at least engaged with one another.  In other words, there are subplots, and I will get more into one in particular in the next paragraph.  More generally, it gets them to lend their talents and treasures to making the occasion a reality.  Still, the true stars are Adam and Emma, and it is Adam who first realizes that his current relationship is no longer what he wants.  Amanda arrives to bring Adam to a work function of hers and finds him with Emma, so Amanda is already suspicious.  As for Emma, despite her efforts, when Simon surprises her by returning before Christmas and announces they have plans on December 22^nd, she informs Adam that she will not be attending.  She has poor timing as well, doing so after giving Adam a special gift.  Then again, he chooses this moment to confess his feelings for her.  After refusing him, she spends the next couple of days avoiding him, causing him to announce that he is canceling the party.  When he is told that she is gone upon inquiring about her at her restaurant, he decides to not even go into work on party day.  It is Paul that lures Adam to the office on false pretenses.  Once he enters, it becomes an unexpected lift when all his train mates are there having the celebration without his knowledge.  Miransa is also on hand, pleased with the event.  Meanwhile, across town Emma finally realizes that Simon’s lifestyle is not for her, and she leaves him.  Would you be surprised if I told you that she goes straight to Adam’s workplace to apologize and join in the festivities?  The two kiss, and the final scene is of them walking off into a wintry landscape.

If there is one complaint about This Is Christmas, it is that it is evident that it was not filmed at the right time of year.  Indeed, according to its Wikipedia page, they shot it in the middle of an English summer heatwave.  All the same, the snow is about the only thing that is fake about it.  You may have noticed that my synopsis is a little shorter than usual.  I did this because I wanted to highlight here the interactions between Dean (Jack Donoghue), a budding young artist, and a washed-up former soccer player named Ray (Timothy Spall).  With Adam and Emma getting various passengers to open up to one another, Dean senses that Ray is having a difficult time.  The elderly athlete has been trying to pick out a Christmas gift for his estranged grandson, and asks Dean the young man’s opinion.  The act of charity leads to an invitation to tea at Ray’s where Dean discovers all the accolades Ray had garnered during his playing career.  Though Ray initially reacts angrily when he finds his medals missing, Dean eventually presents them framed with newspaper clippings chronicling Ray’s achievements.  The last we see of the unlikely pair is Dean helping to present his work to Ray’s grandson on Christmas Day.  Such makes the movie imminently better even though we see the expected romance between Adam and Emma.  More specifically, it is a better Christmas film.  Jesus did not come into the world so that the Three Wise Men could bring him gifts.  Please do not take that as an argument against giving presents on December 25^th.  Instead, what I am highlighting is that what we are seeing in the film, underscored by what God did on that day, is selflessness.  It is selfless to give a gift, but less so to expect it, which is what becomes of many of us when the calendar turns to this time of the year.  What unites the film with the birth of the Messiah is the gift of presence.  It sounds like presents, but it means so much more.  God entered directly into our lives that Christmas morning and humanity knew hope.  Dean does not do anything fancy for Ray, but gives the older gentleman that same feeling of hope.  I will take that over any generic romance.

Then again, the generic romance is there in This Is Christmas movie.  In that sense, it is little different from its cinematic cousins.  What separates it is the way the characters interact with one another, inspired by the kind of thing which we should celebrate first this time of year.  For this, and the fact that it features two Harry Potter actors, it gets my recommendation.