A large Italian American family gathers for its annual winter celebration in Tyler Taormina’s sophomore feature, whose ensemble includes Maria Dizzia, Ben Shenkman and Francesca Scorsese.
Two features into his filmmaking career, it’s evident that director Tyler Taormina loves faces — though not in the way of Bergman or Cassavetes. Unlike those art house paragons, he doesn’t isolate his characters in order to peer intently into their souls. He collects faces by the dozen and dreams up crowded tableaus., presented a mysterious and unsettling teen ritual in which the faces never connected to conventional stories.
But the movie has already established one of its central conflicts: the friction between teenage Emily and Kathleen, the exasperated target of her daughter’s endless hostility. There’s also a notable impasse between Dizzia’s character andmother, Antonia : The hesitation with which Kathleen first approaches her suggests the trepidation of a daughter-in-law who has never met the impassive woman’s expectations. But no, she’s just the kid who doesn’t visit enough.
The screenplay doesn’t waste time on exposition, and, like any first-time visitor , you probably won’t grasp all the relationships in this multigenerational get-together on first viewing, at least not until the helpful visuals-equipped closing-credits sequence. Early in the evening, Kathleen tells Elyse that Emily needs “a little bit of magic.” And Taormina will certainly provide that, when, about halfway through the movie, Emily and her older, more sophisticated cousin Michelle sneak out of the tradition-bound festivities with a couple of friends, gabby Craig in the back seat and Sasha at the wheel of a vehicle she hasn’t quite yet mastered. Their group of Christmas Eve renegades expands with a stop at a bagel shop that’s a teen hangout — linking.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
This 'Killing Eve' Episode Is the Show's Turning PointJodie Comer and Sandra Oh on Killing Eve
Read more »
Large fossil footprints point to discovery of new 'megaraptor' dinosaur: StudyThe new dinosaur is believed to be a relative of the well-known velociraptor.
Read more »
10 Best Magic Items In D&D's Vecna: Eve of Ruin, RankedPowerful D&D spellcasters Mordenkainen and Tasha as depicted in Vecna Eve of Ruin.
Read more »
JFK doodles made on eve of assassination auctioned for more than $34,000Over 40 items linked to former President John F. Kennedy, brought top dollar at an auction held to commemorate his legacy and 107th birthday.
Read more »
Rory McIlroy dealing with another distraction on eve of PGA ChampionshipRory McIlroy has all the momentum he could want heading into the PGA Championship as he tries to end a drought in the majors that has lasted a decade
Read more »
Rory McIlroy dealing with another distraction on eve of PGA ChampionshipRory McIlroy has all the momentum he could want heading into the PGA Championship as he tries to end a drought in the majors that has lasted a decade. He also has a major distraction. McIlroy is hopeful of ending a decade without a major in his return to Valhalla. But the distraction is a divorce from his wife of seven years.
Read more »