White Reindeer (2013) Reviews

• Great acting, interesting story

  cliff3142013-12-08

  I have given a spoiler alert as a safety measure because just about anything about the story in this movie will be a kind of spoiler. First of all, although this is listed as a comedy, it is not. It is a drama, thoughtful and measured and at times sad, with a few funny moments. At the heart of the movie is Anna Margaret Hollyman as Suzanne Barrington, a woman living a low key but happy life, and whose life is completely turned around by a terrible event a month from Christmas. Hollyman is amazing in this role as she barely reacts to all manner of strange situations and actually delivers a great deal in the process. I thought she was absolutely sensational, and I will definitely be seeking out her other movies. All the cast is good, the story - while maybe a bit improbable - is engrossing and the whole production punches well above it's indie weight. Zack Clark has written and directed a great "little" movie here, and I hope he continues in the same vein. And watch out for Anna Margaret Hollyman, she has massive star potential.

• A Gem of a Dark Comedy

  RealDuality2013-12-08

  The obscene and mundane nature of this film will throw some people off, but dark comedies aren't suppose to avoid disturbances, drabness, or oddity. The Director, Zach Clark, manages to convey great emotion in everyday occurrences, sometimes without dialogue, which is quite a feat. He does it in a different type of Christmas movie that is centered around a tragedy, but which has a humorous touch that keeps it entertaining, and that conveys ideas with a real heart. Though Anna Margaret Hollyman isn't well-known, she does a great job anchoring the film as a character who desperately wants it to feel like Christmas despite being overcome with grief. If you enjoy dark humor and don't need a movie to lecture you, or be overly puritanical, I highly recommend White Reindeer. It is a low-budget classic.

• A Holiday Movie Not to Watch with the Family

  devolute2013-12-08

  What you need to know ahead of any spoilers, you can pretty much surmise the "adult nature" of some scenes from the cover of a Christmas tree made out of lines of cocaine. The plot will still surprise you, but you'll have a warning. Also, do not watch this movie with your in-laws and probably not your parents either. It's an independent movie and while the lead actress is great and the camera is close on her face for what seems like most of the movie; she carries it off. Some scenes start with that awkward pause that happens in low budget movies, like the actors are still waiting for their cue. Sets are sparsely decorated and all shot on location in small homes, etc. The pacing and transition could have been better. It seemed to jump from scene to scene and many scenes suffer from a lack of a second camera angle. If all that puts you off, then don't watch this one. If you are looking for some originality in storytelling do watch. Another strong point is the sense of place. I've lived in Northern Virginia and even Crystal City briefly and the movie captures not just the suburban nature, but the specific Southern, East Coast conservative style of the area. **SPOILERS** The lead character prefers dressing in beige, loves to shop, sells real estate, takes comfort in decorating for the holidays, and it would have been so easy to create a stereotype of a naive and uptight person. The shock value of the sex and drugs would have been even greater, but I think that would have been a much more simplistic movie. Instead we don't think of her wild behavior as a reaction to some repressed urges, but as part of whatever her grief process is. Maybe her actions are hard to understand, but not impossible. Also, I wanted more scenes with the news anchor and her husband. They were out way too soon. Overall, the originality of the lead character and the fact that the emotional focus of the story did not get lost in the craziness of the scenes overcomes its lack of production values.

• A Christmas-themed feel-bad film.

  suite922014-04-30

  Jeff and Suzanne seem to be happy living in Virginia near Christmas time. Jeff has a new job starting in January, and they enjoy each other's company deeply. Suzanne comes home one day before Christmas to find Jeff on the floor with his head bashed in. The police investigation seems rather light and inept at the beginning. Things pick up a bit after Suzanne starts combing through the files and web addresses on Jeff's computer. Suzanne decides to meet some of the girls that Jeff knew. Fantasia is one of the dancers. Suzanne starts into shoplifting, as well as cocaine use. Neither of these serves her well. Her old set of friends prove to be less normal afterward. Eventually, though, she starts to get information about Jeff's secret life: lap dances, cocaine use, and his other love interests. Her excursion into getting to know the neighbors is not too damaging. Then again, it was not beneficial for Suzanne. Does Suzanne connect the dots? Does she seek help with the police? Will she survive the neighbors, or her Internet Christmas-sadness buying spree? -----Scores----- Cinematography: 5/10 From overexposure to underexposure to faux blondes to terrible makeup, the sets and lighting were poor. Sound: 7/10 The actors were miked OK. The incidental music was crappy, but then again, that's pretty much what the story was about: crappy situations. Acting: 4/10 I almost liked the performance of Anna Margaret Hollyman, but not any of the many others. Screenplay: 4/10 There was nothing funny about this film. It should not be billed as a comedy.

• This is a comedy???

  trishdgibson2014-04-30

  Awful. That's really it. To elaborate: depressing, icky, gross, disgusting, pointless, not fun. A waste of my time. I kept watching because it is labeled "comedy" and I was trying to understand why. Never got there. Nothing funny. I also kept waiting for her to commit suicide. That would have been a relief. 10 lines of text required, so here goes. This review was not intended to contain a spoiler alert but one cannot write 10 lines about it without revealing: that movies containing vomit scenes (more than once, I might add) are automatically NOT FUNNY. There were plenty of revealing sex scenes but they were not enjoyable because the main character was miserable throughout. If this movie were only billed as something other than comedy, it would have had an appropriate audience, and I would not have watched it when looking for a FREAKIN' COMEDY.