Midnight Clear

I knew this was a remake, but I had not seem the short version. So I had no history for comparison. The script is strong. The performances are excellent, as is the direction. The primary characters are rich, but the lesser roles, particularly the plant security man are very well done. Knowing the limitations of a budget less than $1M, I was expecting to see production flaws. But I couldn't find them. The production values are extraordinary. That's true of cinematography, sound, lighting, score, sets, props, on and on. The movie gives some satisfaction, and leaves one saddened at the same time. Such is life. But it's a wonderful movie, one that everyone with family members and friends who are lonely at Christmas, should see.

Review Date 3/9/2018

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. I AVE OVER 400 REVIEWS OF "CHRISTMAS RELATED FILMS & SPECIALS" WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

The lives of an unemployed divorcee (Stephen Baldwin), his suicidal mother (K Callan) and a couple intersect during Christmastime. This is almost a nonlinear movie and the filmmakers takes some bold steps at the ending by letting the viewer draw their own conclusions.

This is not a film the entire will love. Short attention span people will be bored. Stephen Baldwin however one dimensional performance almost kills the movie!

Stephen Baldwin youngest of the acting Baldwin clan stars in this Christian based film about several people who are not having it real good on Christmas Eve. Baldwin named Lefty since childhood not because he's left handed, but because his family was so poor he played with his brother's old left handed baseball glove and was truly bad with it.

K Callan is a lonely old woman at Christmas time her kids gone off and left her and she's just alone with memories. Not even a cat for companionship and they are great companions. Mary Thornton is a mother with young Dominic Scott Key who just visited her brain damaged husband in the hospital and has to get to her family for Christmas a bit of a drive away. There's also Kirk Woller who is stuck at his gas station/ convenience store for Christmas Eve which doesn't make that much money in normal hours. There's also Mitchell Jarvis youth pastor of a church whose youth group ain't that crazy about doing Christmas carol singing on Christmas Eve. After all it's hardly a hip modern tradition so the kids feel.

All of them interconnect with the others at some point and have an up close and personal experience with the Christmas spirit. Baldwin is the most desperate of all. A degenerate alcohol abuser, has lost his wife and kids and job and he's got himself a gun. He will do harm to someone or to himself at some point it looks like.

This is a nice no frills type Christmas story and is definitely good for more than church audiences.

This movie is a great character piece with quality performances from the established actors. I saw it at Cinequest.

I recommend it to those who like character TV dramas -- "Six Feet Under," "Once & Again," "My So-Called Life" or recent films like "The Savages" or "Lars and the Real Girl." It had the ability to be moving, without being saptastic. It shows the holidays for what they can be - without the dark, Sundance festival-type cynicism.

Who knew Stephen Baldwin had this performance in him. Kae is predictably good in her aching performance of a woman on the verge.

This film should be seen beyond channels like Sundance and IFC - I'd love to see it on FX or AMC next Christmas.

But definitely worth the price of the DVD.

Dan

I, too, picked this up because of Jerry B. Jenkins name on it. The blurb on the back of the DVD sounded intriguing also. I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised and touched by this film.

The story is about 5 people whose lives intersect randomly on Christmas Eve and how those intersections impact the lives of the other characters.

Steven Baldwin and K Callan give the two strongest performances. They also had the most developed story lines, which, I am sure, helped their performances. Baldwin plays "Lefty", a down on his luck loser. K Callan plays "Eva Boyle," a woman whose family is nowhere to be seen and is living a life of quiet desperation and failing mental capacity. Both are at the end of their respective ropes.

Kirk B. R. Woller does a fine job as "Kirk," the lonely owner of a convenience store in a very bad location.

I felt the two weakest stories were "Mary," whose husband suffered brain damage in some sort of accident, and "Mitch", a youth pastor, who was somehow involved in that accident. The actors did the best they could with their material, but since their stories were never really fleshed out, they had a hard time with their roles, I think.

I would have liked to have had more information on "Mitch" and more insight into his feelings of guilt and inadequacy. But even so, Mitchell Jarvis did a great job of portraying a young man who is unsure that what he is doing has any meaning or significance.

The writing was very strong and showed how just random acts of kindness can have a major impact upon peoples lives. It also opens a window on why some people are not so ecstatic about the prospect of another Christmas Eve.

Overall a very thought-provoking movie which makes you wonder just what you could do to impact someone's life positively.