Noel excels in depicting the Christmas spirit in dramatic form. As a Christmas drama, Noel is not the typical romance comedy that is often promoted during the holidays and as such it faces a much more difficult climb in captivating and bringing good cheer to people who expect any Christmas movie to contribute to the holiday's sense of happiness and joyous tidings. The script is biting and for the most part imparts a dour, sad even bitter cold ambiance chilling the holiday spirits even more so than Marley from Dicken's A Christmas Carol. There are three storylines that unfold throughout the movie, one is a young lonely man who seeks solace in the only place he has experienced the Christmas spirit, a hospital, a second is a fiancée who is torn between staying or leaving her moody police officer, and finally a woman who cares for others, especially her infirmed hospitalized mother, and who face that realization that she herself has not found the happiness or Christmas spirit that keeps her alive.
Each storyline line is presented in dour, penetrating tones each difficult to watch during what is supposed to be an expectant holiday season of joy for movie goers. In many ways, this movie delves into the deeper regions of mental disorder as well as marital collapse and grief and trauma. From a therapeutic perspective and even a spiritual one, this movie offers a layman's version of mental health treatment something mostly avoided by holiday movies. By the end, this movie offers up a transformative message for many and depicts important soul-searching questions that many movie goers might ask themselves when it comes to personal isolation and despair. This brief holiday movie experience contains valuable insight and a Christmas message, especially the apparently uncredited performance of Robin Williams, in a sensitive and redeeming presentation.
Each storyline line is presented in dour, penetrating tones each difficult to watch during what is supposed to be an expectant holiday season of joy for movie goers. In many ways, this movie delves into the deeper regions of mental disorder as well as marital collapse and grief and trauma. From a therapeutic perspective and even a spiritual one, this movie offers a layman's version of mental health treatment something mostly avoided by holiday movies. By the end, this movie offers up a transformative message for many and depicts important soul-searching questions that many movie goers might ask themselves when it comes to personal isolation and despair. This brief holiday movie experience contains valuable insight and a Christmas message, especially the apparently uncredited performance of Robin Williams, in a sensitive and redeeming presentation.