First Christmas (2020) -
I did not think that I was going to like this film at all, judging it based on its poster/thumbnail image, but actually it felt very true and real.
It wasn't really that Christmassy and the romance was overshadowed, which was a shame, because Darren Cain as Devin was cute, but it had a real sense of family and finding each other, that is just as important at Christmas as having that one individual, who means a lot, to spend it with.
It also wasn't the typical "Black" film that they usually make. And by that I mean the finger snapping, shouting at the cinema screen and gangsta characters that end up being caricatures of themselves. They were a normal bunch of people that all had their own personalities and attitudes. All of which were made clear as they judged Halle (Idara Victor) to see how she would fit in to their family, as a long lost daughter and how she in turn considered them and their existing bonds or lack thereof.
Even the lesbian bit wasn't intrusive, as it had seemed to be with so many others of this style of film this year. And they weren't over the top about it either. I loved seeing unforced inclusion, but was Meemaw a drag artist, because it seemed unclear?
I did really enjoy this one. It had heart and soul and I felt that I could appreciate their estrangement and the difficulties of building new bridges to become a larger family. The characters, while definitely varied and some not so nice, could all be empathised with in their own ways. Nobody gave a duff performance and while the sets, etc were a little bit perfect, that seemed only to be a reflection of the families status in the community.
I'm not saying that it's one I'll come back to frequently, because my preference is for the more focussed romances with the mighty fine looking fellas in lead roles, but I would recommend it and be happy to watch it in the future after a few years have passed to allow me to forget enough to enjoy it all over again.
6.50/10.
