150 Word Reviews: 'Christmas Eve in Miller's Point' (2024)
Cozy and chaotic
A beautiful sadness hangs over director Tyler Taormina's Christmas Eve at Miller's Point, a distant, boozy memory of one big family's holiday celebration. It's almost experimental, an ensemble comedy about how time passes and how every Christmas Eve feels like it will never end, but one day, you will open your last present surrounded by those you love.
Christmas Eve In Miller's Point cuts between various members of the messy Balsano family. There isn't a plot beyond siblings debating the fate of their ailing mother behind a closed door. It's the details: awkward Uncle talks, children driven mad by Christmas cheer, giant, unsanitary bowls of festive M&Ms.
The cast is endearing, funny, and vulnerable. Maria Dizzia is a harried and hurting mom watching her teen daughter disappear before her eyes. Chris Lazzaro breaks hearts as cousin Bruce, who could have been somebody. Is that Michael Cera as a cop? Yes.