This Is Christmas

December is here, which means it’s that time of year when Christmas romcoms appear everywhere. One of these latest festive flicks is director Chris Foggin’s This Is Christmas, which uses a train carriage of commuters as its means of distilling the yearly dose of holiday cheer. Talking to each other during the daily commute is typically a massive faux pas. However, when Adam (Alfred Enoch) witnesses his fellow passengers standing up for someone who’s mistakenly left their season train ticket at work, he has the crazy idea of throwing a Christmas party for the strangers he sees every day, to demonstrate that people can come together. Likewise, it’s also an excuse for him to get to know Emma (Kaya Scodelario), another traveller, better.

As far as Christmas romcoms go, Foggin’s is one of the more interesting. As the party date draws closer, the commuters begin to talk to each other and, slowly, we get to know them more as people. The small gestures of kindness they offer each other – whether it’s sharing a drink when a train gets delayed or sharing stories of how they like to spend Christmas with their partners – are a nuanced and refreshing means of expressing what other holiday outings can only seem to do in grand gestures. The unlikely and heartfelt friendship that forms between Timothy Spall’s Ray and Jack Donoghue’s Dean is a particular highlight. Likewise, an endearing performance from Joanna Scanlan and a fantastic cameo from Steve Oram as the grouchy train conductor round out the sensational cast.

Despite its initial restraint, even this film can’t help from falling into all the familiar tropes as it enters the third act. It’s at this point where every eye-rolling cliché the script looked to be avoiding is thrown in all at once. It even starts with the irritating second-act break-up. The finale aims for joyous Christmas cheer, though what we get is forced conflict and dramatic payoffs that are both sickeningly sweet and lazily predictable.

Though it verges into the worst parts of Christmas romcoms at the end, This Is Christmas is nevertheless imbued with the right amount of charm and festive spirit to warm anyone’s heart this holiday season.

Andrew Murray

This Is Christmas is released on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW on 9^th December 2022.

Watch the trailer for This Is Christmas here: