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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2021 film A Castle for Christmas.
Story
Part Christmas movie, part enemies to lovers, and part rich author can’t write. (I’ve released 6 books in six years. When are the talk show interviews, international renown, and castle buying money supposed to kick in?)
The story is simple and not very original, but that’s part of it’s charm. If follows through with all its promises and it’s certainly a feel good movie.
Score: 0.5
Characters
It’s nice to see a love story without mocking about two 50+ characters / actors. They are roughly the same age (thank you for not making her 21) and other than her having an adult daughter, age isn’t mentioned.
The main cast play their roles perfectly. The reticent author, the grumpy Scot, and the new best friends are all fantastic. I like the relationships made throughout the movie. Also nice to see a guy friendship with no toxicity in it.
There were a few times it felt forced or scripted and it threw me out of the movie.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
One of my English teachers told me that every type of love story is based off one of Shakespeare’s plays. This one has all the sass and quipping of Much Ado About Nothing. I love the interactions between characters and the quick, simple wordplay.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
It’s hard to beat the setting of a Scottish castle. They filmed it perfectly to bring out the beauty of Scotland, and the set dressing for the Christmas scenes was over the top in the best way.
The music was lovely, especially the choice of songs.
Score: 1
Fun
Both kids sat for the whole thing, although I bribed them with chips (don’t judge me, please). It was exactly what I wanted to watch and exactly what it said on the tin. I laughed, cried, and smiled a lot.
Score: 1
Overall
With two veteran actors hamming it up, this movie couldn’t be anything but entertaining. If you like romances and Christmas movies, you’ll like this one. It’s a lot fun.
Final Score: 4 stars out of 5