Somewhere in Long Island, sometime in the early 2000’s: it is Christmas Eve, and four sprawling generations of the Italian-American Balsano family gather for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. As the night wears on and various tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out friends to claim the wintry night for her own. Meanwhile, the grown-up siblings and their spouses — the organizers, cooks, drinkers and squabblers-in-chief — convene in various nooks and crannies over cigars in the garage or wine in the kitchen.

Enlivened by an easy-to-love ensemble cast including Michael Cera and Elsie Fisher, director Tyler Taormina’s third feature film captures both the lingering warmth and bittersweet nostalgia of the family gathering in precise, intimate detail. More than just another cookie-cutter Hallmark portrait, Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point explores the ephemera and collected rituals, the passing surface pleasures and quiet currents of melancholy that each attendee carries into this Christmas celebration.

Rating

M

Duration

107 MINS