Available now from Indie Go!
1940s Chicago, a private eye dodges the draft, leading to disappointment from those close to him. Soon, he finds himself visited by three ghosts…
Written and directed by Max Allen Collins, this take on the classic tale Christmas Carol does bring a few new ideas to its world, using some of the characters names early on giving a clue that this a take on Marley, Scrooge, and the ghosts. Here though, the developments are a bit on the bland side and the story ends up losing the attention pretty early on. The writing has some good to it, but the dialog is almost clinically 1940s and feels stiff in many scenes. The direction works well with the script, which is usually the case when the same person writes and directs, which also means that there was no one else to make changes or say no to certain ideas. The smaller crew here, if looking at other credits like editing and producing and whatnot is likely due to a smaller budget, but it also sometimes limits the creativity when everyone agrees, and no one brings up issues with the film. As it is Blue Christmas has some good ideas, some good scenes, but as a whole, it is a bit bland and interesting with a pace that needs a bit of help.
Technically speaking, the cinematography Phillip W. Dingeldein (and team) looks decent while feeling a bit like a tv movie. The scenes are wide, and the camera makes the most of them most of the time. The editing comes in and allows the cinematography to do its thing and have it seen, but in terms of helping the story’s pacing the editing does very little to make it better.
The cast here is decent with some bits and pieces of their performances feeling more like community theater or college theater where a few non-actors got parts for lack of other performers available. The cast does what they can, but something is lacking here, and it makes it harder to get into the story and to really connect with the characters.
As a whole, Blue Christmas feels a bit like a missed opportunity, a film with more ideas than capacity of execution. There is some good in here, but it’s not enough to make the film truly memorable or one that will become a holiday classic in the future.
This release from Indie Go! looks decent and has some extras including a commentary track with writer-director Max Allen Collins and producer-editor Chad T. Bishop, a q&a from an advanced theatrical screening, and a documentary featuring Collins. The extras will be of interest mostly to fans of its creators and A Christmas Carol completists, others will likely be left cold.