David Farnor | On 28, Dec 2023

Director: Prathana Mohan
Cast: Justin Long, India Mullen, Tom Moran, Aoife Hughes, Ruth Kearney, Cate Russell
Certificate: PG

Justin Long is one of those actors who really should be a bigger star. Capable of doing everything from comedy to horror, he’s an eminently likeable screen presence – and The Christmas Break is a charming reminder of just how far his charisma can go.

Long plays Jack, happilly married to Caroline (India Mullen) and preparing to travel with her back to her family’s in Ireland for Christmas. With Caroline’s family coming with a clutch of young relatives – including her withdrawn, misunderstood nephew (Arlo Buchanan) and her tougher-than-people-realise niece, Saoirse (Aoife Hughes) – the exposure to the kids draws out one of the key tensions in their marriage: Jack wants children and Caroline doesn’t.

Caroline’s homecoming also throws into sharp relief another pressure on the family: the fact that her dad’s pub is facing closure, because a new bar run by Caroline’s ex, Cormac (Tom Moran), is hoovering up all the punters. And so a wager is laid on a Gaelic football match – whoever wins get to stay open on the coveted busy evening slot.

Compared to some of the festive films on offer these days, the script by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas is reassuringly low-key and understated – the heart of the drama isn’t really the football match or the pub, but whether Jack and Caroline’s relationship can stay strong amid an array of challenges and frustrations.

Thanks to Justin Long and India Mullen’s sincere, lived-in chemistry, that key question keeps you hooked all the way through the quaint ups and downs – including a night out at Cormac’s for Caroline with sisters Maeve (Ruth Kearney) and Pauline (Cate Russell). Those ups and downs are a little too quaint, with a bundle of stereotypes thrown into the mix, but an empowering subplot involving Hughes and an endearing arc for Buchanan help to add a heartfelt note to events. And, through it all, Justin Long’s manic energy makes for enjoyable viewing, especially as he runs about after two toddlers and winds up on a rooftop. The result could have been offensively twee but winds up harmlessly cute. Now can we have more Justin Long movies please?

 

The Christmas Break is available on BBC iPlayer until 14th January 2024

 

Add to Watchlist