This is
an interesting seasonal short – a bit on-the-nose, message-wise, but still
pretty good. I enjoyed it.
In I Hate Christmas Too, a modern-day
Scrooge type is grumbling over holiday obligations when he’s visited by the
Ghost of a Very Specific Christmas Past:
a soldier from the 1914 Christmas truce.
As the soldier recounts his Christmas memories, both grim and hopeful,
the man is given a new perspective on the season.
PC
plays the unnamed man. Since the piece
is only six minutes long, he doesn’t have a wealth of time in which he can grow
and change as a person. Thus, the
turn-around is maybe a little hokey, but hey, so is A Christmas Carol, and like that story, this film rests more on the
strength of the otherworldly encounter than the plausibility of the
growth. The conversation between the man
and the soldier is suitably compelling.
It’s a
fine job in a fairly undemanding role.
PC delivers what he ought to – an initial humbuggedness shifting
gradually into newfound Christmas cheer – playing the less exciting role opposite
the soldier/ghost.
The ghost, by the way, is played by none other than Samuel West. Who in the world is that, you may ask? Well, if you’re anything like me, you have a nostalgic fondness for the old Masterpiece versions of The Chronicles of Narnia, and Samuel West played the Dawn-Treader-era Caspian. (Not quite as cool as the moment I realized Tom Baker played Puddleglum in The Silver Chair, but those old Narnia connections always make me happy.)
The ghost, by the way, is played by none other than Samuel West. Who in the world is that, you may ask? Well, if you’re anything like me, you have a nostalgic fondness for the old Masterpiece versions of The Chronicles of Narnia, and Samuel West played the Dawn-Treader-era Caspian. (Not quite as cool as the moment I realized Tom Baker played Puddleglum in The Silver Chair, but those old Narnia connections always make me happy.)
Accent Watch
I’m
thinking Scottish. I could be thrown off
by the soldier’s obvious Scottish accent and PC’s comparative lack of lines,
but that’s how it sounds to me.
Recommend?
In
General
– Why not? It’s hard to go wrong with
six minutes, and I’m such a sucker for WWI stuff. Go for it, I’d say.
PC-wise – Not
necessarily. A nice enough role, and
like I said, short enough that it won’t put you out, but it’s not wow-worthy or
anything.
Warnings
Thematic
elements dealing with the war.
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