Last Christmas jingles its bells as 2019's first festive feature to grace our cineplexes, with Paul Feig's newest rom-com hoping to kick off the holiday cheer nice and early. Set in London, written by Emma Thompson and based on the music of George Michael, will you give your heart to Last Christmas or should you save it for someone special?
Kate's (Emilia Clarke) life has been very rocky after an operation the year before that left her cold and selfish. With dreams of being a singer but stuck working in a Christmas shop, Kate's life is going from bad to worse until she glances out of the window and sees Tom (Henry Golding), a charming but mysterious man who manages to bring out the best in her. Can they make their conflicting personalities work, or is that one Christmas miracle too many?
Spoilers within.
Viewers with a nervous disposition for the sentimental may want to avoid the extraordinarily sweet Last Christmas at all costs, a film with so much cheese you want to cook it on toast and avoid the scales for the next few days. With add festive goodwill, the cynical will hate it. But for the rest of us ready to welcome the cheer into our lives, Last Christmas is an immensely enjoyable, instantly lovable and warming experience. And, quite refreshingly really, it never tries to be anything else. Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings' screenplay embraces its genre roots, wrapping up conventions with a pretty bow and going about its business with a big heart and good intentions.
Your enjoyment, though, hinges on how you respond to the film's major twist. Whether you picked it up early in the film's marketing or it presented itself to you midway through the film, it's a make-or-break point for the majority of viewers. Personally speaking, it's a balsy and brave punch line and what it lacks in subtle it makes up for in the emotional impact it leaves you with: if you've fallen under this movie's spell and bought into the relationship, it will be difficult not to be swept up and shedding plenty of tears over the film's final twenty minutes.
And buying into that relationship is effortless thanks to the jaw-dropping charm of Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. A film like Last Christmas requires a knowingness, a wink and a nudge, with both Clarke and Golding playing every line with a twinkle in their eye. Clarke's Kate coldness is broken by a flicker of warmth that audiences latch on to, evoking an empathy within us that is so crucial to securing the film's success and portrayal of Kate's character arc. Clarke is as accomplished in conveying the emotion as she is in drawing out the laughs, switching with total ease - and her performance of the titular song is an utter delight too.
Likewise, falling head over heels in love with Golding's Tom is simply irresistible - "charming" seems like a redundantly basic term to describe how enchanting Golding is in this role, delivering one of the strongest male performances of its ilk in some time. Again, he is equally capable with drama and comedy, lighting up the screen with his every appearance. The pair's rapport is instantaneous and their chemistry is captivating, resulting in a match made in rom-com heaven. Michelle Yeoh and Emma Thompson round out the supporting cast magnificently, with their various subplots exploring the themes of loneliness, depression and political uncertainty effectively.
There's something magical in Feig's direction. Buoyed by impressive production design and a lovely score from Theodore Shapiro, Feig finds the perfect balance between laughs and romance, barely missing a beat along the way. London becomes a character in its own right, explored by Feig with genuine fondness; as well as showcasing the pretty set pieces and wintry scenery around the city, it also highlights into socially-important themes while never losing its uplifting spirit. While these elements could feel shoe-horned in the wrong hands, it is well-incorporated by Feig and textures this tale of learning to love with contemporary relevancy that won't be lost on British viewers in particular.
Last Christmas isn't a perfect film by any stretch. The incorporation of George Michael's music outside of the titular song feels incidental, the twist is perhaps a little too transparent and it doesn't really break the genre mould. But you'll get from Last Christmas what you put into it: if you can accept the twist in all its literal glory, you'll find yourself swept up by this heartwarming, heartbreaking feature. With the charming Emilia Clarke, the irresistible Henry Golding and their wonderful chemistry, alongside supporting brilliance from both Michelle Yeoh and Emma Thompson, this is a Christmas gift difficult to resist. I gave Last Christmas my heart, it broke it a little, but then gave it back a little fuller. It's a win in my book.
8/10
Summary: It won't be for everyone, but if you're willing to give Last Christmas your heart, rest assured that you're giving it to something special. A delightful yuletide treat, it's almost impossible not to be charmed by Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Paul Feig and Emma Thompson's efforts here.
8/10
Summary: It won't be for everyone, but if you're willing to give Last Christmas your heart, rest assured that you're giving it to something special. A delightful yuletide treat, it's almost impossible not to be charmed by Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Paul Feig and Emma Thompson's efforts here.