Though predictable and formulaic, A Castle for Christmas is entertaining nonetheless with some beautiful cinematography, appealing performances, and some lovely Scottish Christmas music and celebrations. From the snow-covered Scottish countryside, along with the beautifully decorated castle, to traditional Scottish dance and song, plus a cute dog named Hamish to boot, the film has a pleasing Christmas feel to it, which most will enjoy. The story follows Sophie Brown (played by Brooke Shields), a best-selling author whose most recent book has caused a bit of a scandal. After an on-air meltdown, she travels to Scotland partly to flee her readers fury and partly to reconnect with her family roots. While visiting Dun Dunbar Castle, the place where he grandparents were groundskeepers, she meets Myles (played by Cary Elwes), the 12th Duke of Dunbar, who reluctantly agrees to sell the castle to her under the condition she lives with him at the castle for 90 days. And so, our story begins as we watch these two butt heads all the while embarking on a discovery that neither was expecting nor bargained for. The script is unoriginal but enjoyable. To be fair, one of the reasons why Christmas movies are so popular is because of their highly formulaic and predictable plots. We all need some comfort food from time to time. The dialogue and banter are pretty good. And though I did not have a laugh-out-loud moment, I did find myself chuckle a few times. There also were some touching movements here and there where I might even have shed a tear or two. The romance in this one centers on an older couple, as opposed to 30 somethings, which was refreshing. The script does a pretty good job of reflecting and highlighting this as well. The acting, overall, was excellent. Shields had an impressive performance as Sophie Brown. Elwes, who many will remember from the The Princess Bride, also had a strong performance. The chemistry between the two was great and, more importantly, convincing. Indeed, they had a nice back-and-forth (banter and comedic flirtation), which was engaging and entertaining. The knitters of Dunbar all had lovely performances too. And I cannot forget Hamish, the dog who played matchmaker in this story. If you are looking for something warm and light, with a touch of Scottish holiday cheer, A Castle for Christmas might be the Christmas rom-com for you.
