Wonderful character development!

the audience applauded

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

A rare movie that doesn't portray struggling poor people as linguistically-challenged, trash-dressing, immoral gun-wielding drunk meth-heads. And as no-nonsense sensitive as you might expect from Phil Morrison, the director of 'Junebug', and Melissa James Gibson, the writer of many 'House of Cards' episodes. So refreshingly real, and so much talent on all sides, actors included. Of course, Paul Giamatti and Paul Rudd are great as always, as is British Sally Hawkins (see Mike Leigh's 'Happy-Go-Lucky', Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine', etc.), playing a Polish immigrant with a heart as big as her accent. The final scenes may seem a bit of a positive stretch, but you're sure ready for one by then, and movies do need to provide us a little fantasy, or else, what's the point?

I wouldn't call this a comedy. But it is touching and a serious account of struggling for Christmas.There is brilliant subtlety in the plot and ending that is easily not noticed.Part of the film's charm is rooting the origins of Christmas in Quebec, where it deserves to be.The movie is neither depressing nor uplifting while staying interesting, and the choice to make it so is interesting.This is definitely worth seeing. Don't expect too much. Though this is arguably Giamatti's best acting since that wine tasting movie.

what an startling film this is. delicate, crystalline, complicated, pure. there are four motifs repeated here... smoking, theft, poverty, and humanity. the first three are agonies. they twist us, they defile us, they make us smaller and darker and less able to realize ourselves and to see each other. the fourth is our only hope, and surprisingly, it is not out of reach. even now, even here. i guess the original title of this movie was Almost Christmas, and now All Is Bright, but i would have called it that... Even Now, Even Here. the writer, Melissa James Gibson, must be a remarkable person, well traveled if not in the world then in her head and heart. she gives us fresh tasty layers of french Canadian, (tabarac!), and a little Inuit and black African and such a wonderfully precise, carved and sculpted Russian individual that i found my inner voice speaking in her hauntingly wrong accent for days after meeting her. "You must have Russian blood." Sally Hawkins says ruefully, sadly. "Why?" Paul Giamatti asks, "Because you do what you must." some movies leave you wanting to see more of the movie, this one left me wanting it to not be a movie at all. i wanted to meet and to continue to be with these people. i still wonder and worry about them, even now. that these big stars would find this script attractive is impressive and gives me hope because surely there is no box office here. turn away ye tweens in your millions, there are no lusting vampires here. and nothing is 3D. there is one gun in the movie, but it needs to be there and it only exists to break hearts, it isn't sexy just as real guns never are. i had forgotten what a precise and life affirming artist Sally Hawkins is since Happy Go Lucky years ago. a poet also needs to be a surgeon, and this actress whose characters are so much like poems would no more betray a gesture or slaughter a syllable than a surgeon might misplace a vein. just to see her work again is worth the time. i remember one scene... a man is trying to talk another man into doing a burglary and when he resists, he grabs a saw and holds it against his friend's throat. whats next? karate chop? car chase? CGI zombies with Mr Pitt in dull pursuit? no. the threatened man reaches over and touches his friend's face. he gets it. he feels the humanity in himself and the other, and he knows the desperation and the cause. that's a good thing. straight men should be able to touch each others face if the need arises, but how often are we allowed to in real life, much less in film? the peevish puny pecking side of me wants to criticize when the movie is unreal, i am too big a fan of realness, i confess. like the absurdity that a Steinway grand piano is a portable gift that plays well in the snow, or that a dingy disloyal woman who sits on her front steps and smokes would have hair that anyone would want to smell. and that loud and glaring final song, although pretty enough, makes us feel that we are being preached at under a neon sign instead of just simply being shared with, which is all we ever wanted. but these are small complaints when all i really come away with is gratitude for amazingly intelligent work. if you have no soul or mind, or want to abandon yours, go see Now You See Me. if you want to spend real time with our flawed and fragile human mirrors, artfully portrayed, see this. jusboutded/salon/blog

Phil Morrison blazed onto the scene with Junebug (2005) and managed to introduce the cinematic world to the blissful abilities with Oscar- nominated actress Amy Adams. With a near eight year stretch, he has finally taken his directorial chair yet again to bring the whimsical and fascinating Almost Christmas with Paul Giamatti and Paul Rudd.The film opens up with Dennis (Giamatti), a recently released ex-convict that learns that his now ex-wife has told their daughter that he died in prison. To make matters worse, his partner-in-crime Rene is now dating her with intentions of marriage. With no job, home, or any real place to go, Rene's guilt partners with Dennis' opportunities and the two French Canadians embark on a trip to New York City to sell Christmas trees just before the holidays. During the daily antics and struggle to sell, eat, and sleep out of a wooden trailer, a dentist's wife (Sally Hawkins) presents a possible opportunity for them to learn more than just the meaning of the holidays. Paul Giamatti continues to elevate himself to one of the greatest working actors today. As Dennis, he's utterly believable and encounters a new side of himself as an actor that is both funny and completely genuine. Giamatti's dedication to the craft allows him to continue to do what he normally achieves with all of his off-beat characters that are dreadful on the inside with a kind core that the audience can easily access. As Rene, Paul Rudd continues his attempt at off-beat comedies on the independent circuit and presents himself as a very capable and gifted actor. His performance, which naturally brings many of the film's biggest laughs, is one of the Rudd's most surprising portrayals to date. Rudd shows vulnerability, skill, and a promise of a very endearing and powerful performance somewhere in his future. While the role is not a full-out home-run for the actor, he is more than average and presents some of the film's beautiful highlights. Written by Melissa James Gibson, Almost Christmas is an incredibly original concept with a slight twist on a genre you may feel like you've seen before. The actions and story temperature are unhurried and at times cold, but ultimately is what makes the film succeed. There are some off-beat choices in character behaviors and an unrelated qualm about how someone should act in firm situations, but for a first-time screenwriter, it's a great plateau for her to step off. Gibson has only been credited as a writer on the show, "The Americans." She constructs authentic characterizations and gives them all an identity for the actor's to latch onto. Golden Globe Winner Sally Hawkins is amazingly charming and wondrous in her role. With her delightful and appealing accent partnered with her cutely delivered monologue about "Fortune of Wheel," it's another strong turn from the gifted actress that has yet to take off in the big Hollywood manner as of yet. Hawkins is absolutely hilarious. Phil Morrison's direction and choices aren't as bold or as inventive as his styles in Junebug. The story doesn't lend itself to those traits that made him a quiet sensation in the mid-2000s. He lends himself to a more defined genre of filmmaking that doesn't go for the big moments or audience reactions. It's a undemanding yet solid directorial work. The film's narrative is paced at a leisured speed, which may take some out of the story. It does take a minute to lift off but when it gets going, Almost Christmas has you hooked. It's a fine film event for movie-goers and a possible contender for year-end citations by independent groups. Oscar CHANCES: Lead Actor for Paul Giamatti, Supporting Actress for Sally Hawkins, Original Screenplay for Melissa James GibsonRead More @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com