Do you love Christmas but cannot suffer through the cheesiness of Christmas cinema? Are you looking for a breath of fresh but still gingerbread smelling air? Or maybe you just have a sudden surplus of free time with Moodle shutting down in the middle of deadline season and need Christmas-themed entertainment to forget all the stress for 1 hour and 40 minutes? If so, this article is for you!
Here’s my rundown of 5 vaguely Christmassy films that do not rely on their Christmas-ness to keep you watching.
5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
This neo-noir flick has everything you need from an action-packed Hollywood dark comedy – petty thieves dragged into murder mysteries, actors at the miserable end of their career, failed beauties and romance decades in the making. The Christmas setting does not take away from the steady rhythm of action and unfolding mystery and plot twists. Ideal if you’re over the tired Christmas comedies.
4. Die Hard
The ultimate film featuring our favourite detective/genius, Jake Peralta, is set in New York at Christmas. This Christmas might be the best time to see if this police flick lives up to all the hype. It follows an NYPD officer trying to prevent a disaster at the hands of German terrorist. Its fast-paced action and drama keeps your eyes firmly fixed to the screen. Do you find yourself yawning at the overused action tricks of Christmas films? Maybe Bruce Willis can save you from boredom this year!
3. Edward Scissorhands
Are you more of a Tim Burton person? Do you like the weird, the fantastical, and the odd? Edward Scissorhands has all the strangeness of Burton and all the good-heartedness of Christmas. It is the ultimate story of things that are not as they seem. The scary-looking Edward is in fact loving and gentle, and the people who are afraid of him are in fact the vile monsters. If you want the Christmas magic and fantasy without the Christmas naivete, this is the film for you.
2. Eyes Wide Shut
Stanley Kubrick’s infamous masterpiece takes on relationships, insecurities, marriage, and self-discovery. It uncovers the dark side of the self, the one we do not want to access, the one we keep running away from. The film explores that darker side by venturing where we never dare to venture in our own relationships and introspection. This piece might be a little bit graphic for your Christmas film marathon with your family, but it will not leave you for days after you’ve watched it. It is thought-provoking and challenging, if a bit long.
1.The Apartment
If you’re in the mood for a romantic film but cannot stand the cookie-cutter plots and characters of the modern Christmas romcoms, this black-and-white film from 1960 might be the answer. What might first seem like a cynical commentary on the futility of long-term commitment and the false promise of love quickly becomes a vulnerable portrayal of loneliness and the complicated nature of love. As the plot unfolds over the days of Christmas, so do the love lives of the main characters. This film is for you if you are looking for something universal that transcends time. Love is one of those things, even if it sometimes gets lost in the Christmas spirit.
There you go, now you can go and procrastinate on your coursework with the help of this little handy list. Or be a free thinker, an independent intellectual, and boycott Christmas (and Christmas films) altogether. Happy Holidays.