Another pretty different Hallmark one today with A Christmas Visitor (2002), a solemn, supernatural tearjerker from director Christopher Leitch. This one stars William Devane as the patriarch of a family struggling to cope with the loss of their son during the Gulf War. As they try to piece their lives back together at Christmas time, a mysterious stranger named Matthew (Dean McDermott) enters their lives and things get spooky.
On the day the world finally says goodbye to 'President' Trump, I should be pleased, but this film actually puts me on a downer. Again, this is not the sort of Christmas magic I was looking for.
It's a film that unashamedly celebrates The Troops, and has a compelling cameo from Aaron Ashmore as ill-fated John, the son who went to war and never returned. Jumping forward many years, this has led to his dad George (Devane) and mother Carol (Meredith Baxter) swearing to never celebrate Christmas again because it brings back too many awful memories. John’s sister Jeanie (Reagan Pasternak) is also going through a breast cancer scare, so it’s heavy stuff. This all catches me off guard as I’ve become so accustomed to these films being happy clappy cheese-fests, so am not expecting to see mastectomy scars. My wife had a health scare in the run-up to Christmas 2020, so this brings back some harrowing memories, though thankfully Katie turned out to be ok. Phew.
There’s plenty of bleak flashbacks, the most harrowing depicting the family getting the news of John’s demise on Christmas Day. His mother’s guttural wail is heart-wrenching and decidedly un-Christmassy.
It's the sort of movie small town where everyone knows each other’s business, so it’s a huge deal when George is spotted buying Christmas lights. He’s determined to have one good Christmas this year, not just to honour his boy, but to help the family heal and move on. With all that’s going on, the family is not so keen. Somewhat unfairly, poor Jeanie rants that Dad wants to celebrate Christmas because he loved her brother more than her. The misery is piled on pretty high, so it’s a relief when the festive sorcery kicks in.
George hears a weird disembodied voice call from the shadows, right before handsome drifter Matthew arrives on the scene to save his bacon when some assholes attempt not just to mug him, but disrespect the war memorial. This obviously will not stand.
Matthew turns out to be ‘a veteran,’ so naturally George invites him home for Christmas, because that’s what patriots in Hallmark films do. Before long these two are singing carols together and Matthew drops the bombshell that he was in John’s unit. He starts saying things that indicate he knows more about the family than he possibly could. Is he an angel? A ghost? A psychic? It’s intriguing and keeps me guessing.
It's blessed relief that the film ends on an uplifting tone. It’s a poignant tale about healing and learning to live with grief, rather than just get over it. I’m emotionally exhausted by the time it’s over and find myself wondering why Hallmark don’t make more films like this. Probably don’t want to bum people out.
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