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In what may very well be the most well written, best acted and wonderfully directed family Christmas film in ages, A Boy Called Christmas, now streaming on Netflix has at its center actor Henry Lawfull, as Nikolas or as his mother called him Christmas. This is an enchanting story of the origins of Christmas, born from the imaginations of author Matt Haig, whose book the screenplay by Ol Parker and Gil Kenan is based on. Gil Kenan also directed the film.

Dame Maggie Smith appears as Aunt Ruth, and she certainly needs no introduction and her performance is just as stellar as the rest of her career has been. Dutch actor Michiel Huisman, whom among his many film and television credits counts, Angela Black (TV), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (film-2018), Game of Thrones as Daario Naharis and the character Liam McGuinnis in Nashville portrays Nikolas’ father Joel, in an understated way. Stephen Merchant is fabulous as the voice of the mouse Miika. Zoe Margaret Colletti is simply brilliant as the Truth Pixie.

Oh yes we forgot to mention this story has a pixie, a troll, and many, many elves who live in an…hmm….well a magical place, called Elfhelm, where of course elves live and for this story at least it is found in the north of Finland. This is the right Christmas film for December 2021, because it reminds us of hope and goodness, even if it is a screenplay born from imagination. COVID-19 and all the ramifications that have come with that have done a number on our psyches that we may not yet understand for many years. There is enough light humor and there are enough magical moments to balance the sadness that several of these characters experience.

Although, you may anticipate some of the ending you will not predict all of it. This writer was certainly caught off guard by some of the plot twists.

If you are a believer that less is often more in acting performances, as we believe, then you will love the supporting cast including the many wonderful child actors.

Netflix gets a lot of things right, some things wrong and this time with a Netflix original production they gave us a wonderful Christmas gift, which someday we will look back on as a timeless classic A Boy Called Christmas. If you have a family watch this film together. If you do not have family, invite a friend to watch it with you. Your time will be well invested.

You can watch the trailer here.    Return to Our Front Page

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This interview by Joe Montague published December 5th, 2021 is protected by copyright © and is the property of Riveting Riffs Magazine All Rights Reserved.  All photos are the the property of Netflix unless otherwise noted and all  are protected by copyright © All Rights Reserved. This review may not be reproduced in print or on the internet or through any other means without the written permission of Riveting Riffs Magazine.