I love Christmas, Christmas-themed movies, Christmas-themed cakes, Christmas carols, and the song 'Last Christmas'. I love it all so much! So this is not going to be an entirely objective perspective but still.
Emilia Clarke plays Katarina, a girl of Croatian origin living in London. She is a damaged, yet unusually self-aware little soul. In the beginning of the film we see her explain herself to the 'hero' that she is like George Michael...very talented, misunderstood, and not appreciated in their own time.
We get the sense early on that she had been very ill. She doesn't get on with her family, is in a dead-end job working as an elf in a shop that sells Christmas-themed curious all-year round, has friends who have given up on her...
Then she meets a guy.
This movie could be considered as a pastiche of cinematic cliches. And if you see some online reviews, you will know that many people have disliked it for these reasons. But with Emilia Clarke, Emma Thompson, and Henry Golding, these standard tropes are masterfully handled. There's wit. There sadness. There's quite smiles. There's a weariness. And there's the magical voice of George Christmas whose lyrics anchor the narrative in places. (My absolute favorite is when 'Faith' plays in the background when Emilia's life takes a turn for the better.)
Emma Thompson plays Clarke's mother, a worried Yugoslavian who talks with a thick accent and is confused about Dick and penis meaning the same thing. She is always such a treat!
The decorations on the streets, set pieces designed for the shop, a big musical somewhere, the alleyways with gentle drifting snow... it's all so gorgeous.
See, most of us have Love, Actually as a benchmark of Christmas warmth. And that is hard to match up to. But just in case one wants to shop around for what else is there, this is a lovely option.
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