'R Xmas (2001)

A New York drug dealer is kidnapped, and his wife must try to come up with the money and drugs to free him from his abductors before Christmas.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writers:

Cassandra De Jesus (story), Abel Ferrara (screenplay)

Stars:

Drea de Matteo, Lillo Brancato, Lisa Valens

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Drea de Matteo	...	The Wife
Lillo Brancato	...	The Husband (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
Lisa Valens	...	Lisa, the Daughter
Ice-T	...	The Kidnapper
Victor Argo	...	Louie
Denia Brache	...	Louie's Wife
Janis Corsair	...	Shopper 1
Gloria Irizarry	...	Aunt
Naomi Morales	...	The Niece
Andrew Fiscella	...	Accomplice No. 1 (as Andy Fiscella)
Thomas Murray	...	Accomplice No. 2
Edwin Martinez	...	Accomplice No. 3 (as Edwin 'Eddie' Martinez)
Anne Ackerman	...	Shopper No. 2
John Robert Tramutola	...	Child Scrooge (as John R. Tramatola III)
Meredith Ostrom	...	Elfie

Storyline

It's a few days before Christmas, and a Latin American couple living in New York City are preparing and packaging their heroin for street distribution. While the wife has her qualms about the ethics of drug dealing, both she and her husband know there's plenty of money to be made in the drug trade. The couple discovers one of their lower-level dealers may be talking to the police, but they soon have a bigger problem to deal with when the husband is kidnapped and held for a huge ransom.

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Plot Keywords:

mini dress | blonde woman | short dress | corrupt cop | pig | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, drug content and some violence

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 December 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Christmas

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

FRF 453,110 (France), 1 January 2002, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$850, 10 November 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$850

Company Credits

Production Co:

Valence Films Inc., Barnholtz Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2001 (#10)

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Connections

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004)

User Reviews

Neat glance at the drug world

An un-named upscale New York couple (BRONX TALE's Lillo Brancato and SOPRANOS regular Drea de Matteo) are loving parents, who by day, go Christmas shopping for their beloved little girl, Lisa (Lisa Valens). At night, they don street clothes, head for the unfriendly reaches of the Bronx to deal in heroine with dangerous co-workers and drug rivals. The wife learns from a kidnapper (Ice-T) that her husband has been taken. The ransom is due within an almost impossible time limit. ‘R XMAS is free of the drug-movie cliches. Gunplay is at a bare minimum (The only bullet recipient in 'R XMAS is a basketball!) There are no expected car chases (When the wife drives across town for ransom money, she isn't running red lights and knocking over fruit stands, like every rescuer in most other genre film) ‘R XMAS is filled with insight, a peek into the inner workings of drug neighborhoods highlighted with wall graffiti.