Hallmark opened the 2019 Christmas movie season with this surprising movie. Apparently, this film unlike many others was actually based on a novel. One can tell from the quality of the script and the nuance of the character motivations. A woman is able to choose her career as a focus while simultaneously falling in love and spending time with her son. For once a man suspends his career goals because he is falling in love.
This inversion of the usual tropes is especially noticeable when marathoning these films. This one is well acted by Jill Wagner and Matthew Davis. They have a nervous interaction at first. She is intimated by his corporate standing and he is too busy to take her seriously. He begins to fall for her by seeing how passionate she is about setting up Christmas decorations. Nothing in his life is passionate. Cold and focused on the deal he is. His father would have wanted it that way. He eventually relaxes some as much as a man who has never relaxed can.
The film demonstrates how closeness with another person brings out our best qualities. It restores our humanity and that of our neighbors. Like the executive's relationship brings out the ambition of his assistant. She is a natural to fill his role when the inevitable ending arrives. That's ok. This film's happy ending is deserved because it feels like a conclusion these two characters are destined for.
Like many Hallmark movies, the movie isn't without some cheese. Why is a the executive setting up shop in a country estate? The plot demands an excuse to decorate. Some characters have no purpose besides padding. A few loose plot threads are acceptable when many other Hallmark films are so emotionless. A corporate machine cannot invoke feelings like a human author can.
This inversion of the usual tropes is especially noticeable when marathoning these films. This one is well acted by Jill Wagner and Matthew Davis. They have a nervous interaction at first. She is intimated by his corporate standing and he is too busy to take her seriously. He begins to fall for her by seeing how passionate she is about setting up Christmas decorations. Nothing in his life is passionate. Cold and focused on the deal he is. His father would have wanted it that way. He eventually relaxes some as much as a man who has never relaxed can.
The film demonstrates how closeness with another person brings out our best qualities. It restores our humanity and that of our neighbors. Like the executive's relationship brings out the ambition of his assistant. She is a natural to fill his role when the inevitable ending arrives. That's ok. This film's happy ending is deserved because it feels like a conclusion these two characters are destined for.
Like many Hallmark movies, the movie isn't without some cheese. Why is a the executive setting up shop in a country estate? The plot demands an excuse to decorate. Some characters have no purpose besides padding. A few loose plot threads are acceptable when many other Hallmark films are so emotionless. A corporate machine cannot invoke feelings like a human author can.