iranu-74195 Review of Christmas at Holly Lodge

Christmas at Holly Lodge (2017 TV Movie)

Expecting the normaal cheap corn - but got high quality acting and script

[8/10 · 1 November 2020]

This is a (good) strange one. The issue here is that acting, script, supporting cast, camerawork, editing are all really competent. Location is the normal mystery, they did some genuine Winter/Ski scene shots but suspect 90% of the "Lodge" shots are out of season? Was the budget so sensitive that they cannot manage a quick shoot, in a genuine season? Surely the fake snow budget outweighs the savings? Anyway, the female lead is rushing toward menopause and the male is middle-aged lost and they make a great job of inhabiting their characters. Outside of the creepy guy playing Gary, everyone else is really good. Even the token African-American female friend is very well played and does not deteriorate into patronising Maya Angelou junk philosophy or sub-Oprah k rap. There's also no Uncle Plaid Shirt horse sh. going on. Even the white people do not burn your eyes with their whiteness. A well-acted and, shall I say it...touching film.