“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” (2024) is for extrovert artsy fartsy film lovers with big families. Introverted extroverts or extroverted introverts who love independent films with more of a narrative need not apply or should proceed with caution. Christopher Nolan would probably aspire to make a film like this but could never quit star power and the semblance of a narrative regardless of how much he desires this result. This slice of life film is set on Christmas Eve in the neighborhood surrounding a house that once belonged to the matriarch. It would feel like a documentary if it was not for the moments of visual whimsy and the presence of two taciturn cops, Officer Gibson (Michael Cera) and Sergeant Brooks (Gregg Turkington), who spend more time looking the other way and at each other than enforcing the law.
Some films need to be seen on the big screen to be appreciated, and “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” may be one of them because you will need to pay attention to every detail to glean a story from the chaos. If you find yourself multitasking at home, you may find yourself missing key visual cues, names, locations, etc. It is set in 2006 on Long Island, but the era feels timeless. Blood or marriage links most of the onscreen characters celebrating together in the house. Outside the house, the bonds fall along age or interest. While the camera may prefer to stay in place, the editor, Kevin Anton, keeps things moving to convey the chaos and convivial nature of the proceedings, especially the impressive spreads of food. Even if you never had a family like this, the members would feel familiar. This lack of narrative structure and attention to detail works better in the first half than the second when the clan splits along generational lines, specifically the teens around the neighborhood.
Breaking down the characters feels like cheating a viewer of the real experience of “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” and to really appreciate the lyrical narrative, it would require two viewings even if the first viewing begins to feel as if it is overstaying its welcome and feels like a new form of torture. Director and cowriter Tyler Taormina and cowriter Eric Berger defy rhythm and adhere to letting the night unfold as it would in real life. For example, the way that two different characters use the bathroom feels like a room that will function to illustrate each person’s personality, but that would be too predictable for an abstract realistic movie.
“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” explores a multitude of themes: perception of crime, police brutality, justice, generational divide, caretaker struggles, coming of age, arrested development, secret creative dreams, 9/11, racism, LGBTQ, etc. There is something for everyone in this profile of a predominantly Italian American family with one foot stepping forward into tomorrow and another foot perched to rise from the past but still resting there. At its heart, it is a quotidian horror movie about aging and losing a valuable part of life without knowing it—cue poignant nostalgia. When a fire truck procession passes, the screams sound terror-induced, but it is a kid shouting with glee. Another kid ventures into a dark, cluttered portion of the basement, but is oblivious to the inanimate object lying discarded that holds the key to the destruction of future nights like the one captured in this movie. While everyone is filled with joy, the tone shifts whenever the scene focuses on the pearl clad matriarch, Grandma Antonia (Mary Reistetter). It is an ominous tone that portends what Uncle Matthew (John Trischetti Jr.) will gradually reveal to his siblings. Sometimes when I watch a movie, I play which character am I most like, and Uncle Matthew was the most relatable to me. A teen boy screams, “We’re never going to die.” Unlikely. While it is not satire, it has a Jim Jarmusch feel without the overt monster metaphor used in “The Dead Don’t Die” (2019). Beginning in a cemetery with a quote about lost souls is the overcast cloud behind the tinsel.
There is also the loss of roots. In one kitchen scene, an adult from the third generation is teaching a group of children about a traditional Italian beverage. There is a sense that each generation loses their connection to their cultural roots and is put through the mill of becoming an American until their national origin is utterly erased. This theme echoes with the already dated and decaying technology: video games played on tube televisions with a pair of embedded DVD players, phones with cords, a Roomba stuck in the garage, tube lights hanging, furry forums, flip phones, etc.
While “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” ignores every conventional and commercial impulse, it is still a Christmas movie, and some tropes must be obeyed. There is an ice-skating scene, perfect gift wrapping, a scenic view with an oversized crescent moon, the magic of snow fall, a stop at the local diner, special family ornaments. There are also actors whose family name is disproportionately recognizable compared to their body of work. Social media star Francesca Scorsese fits right in as a member of the family and casting her seems right considering that this movie could be one of her dad’s films if you took out all the violence and sex and just ambled around the neighborhood. Another nepo baby, Sawyer Spielberg, who seems to enjoy appearing in Christmas movies starting with “Merry Good Enough” (2023), plays one of three burnouts hanging around a graveyard. He gets a monologue about early New Year’s Resolutions though his dance card may be filled.
Laura Wernette gets the above and beyond award for being the only actor who does not break character for the closing credits. She plays the rage-filled Mrs. Mott, a very pivotal supporting character who runs the diner and is sick of dumpster divers. Oblivious to how her actions turn the heat under a simmering pot of regret and realization between mothers and daughters, which is a through line that exists through the generations, she rants more to herself than the people around her. The filmmakers are from the filming location, Smithtown, Long Island, so it is probably more fact than fiction.
“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” is not for everyone, and if you watch it and hate it, you were warned! It will only be a Christmas classic for some and a chance to catch up on sleep for many. If you see abstract art and scream, “I could have made that,” then steer clear. You could not, and you would not. While it does not break any taboos and is far from experimental, it could still be impenetrable if you are not in the right mood. If you want to give it a chance, don’t plan to do anything after you watch it except go to bed. Let it sit for a bit and let it digest. Then give it another go—preferably on Boxing Day.
