No Time for Forgiveness

Mathieu Amalric in A Christmas Tale

By Mark Peikert

Starring Catherine Deneuve, Melvil Poupaud, Mathieu Amalric and Chiara Mastroianni; directed by Arnaud Desplechin (IFC Films)

Gallic dysfunction is running high throughout A Christmas Tale, as the splintered factions of a family reunite for one spectacularly bad Christmas. Icy matriarch Junon (Deneuve) is dying and may need a risky transplant; Sylvia (Mastroianni) discovers that her husband’s two brothers let him have her; and oldest child Elizabeth (Anne Consigny) must deal with the brother she detests for the first time in years. Unfortunately, watching these brothers, sisters, and in-laws battle it out isn’t quite as entertaining as it might sound. Mostly, A Christmas Tale is just annoying. There isn’t a single character who doesn’t qualify as the relative you’d avoid at your own family’s holiday gathering, so spending two-and-a-half hours trapped in a room with them is hardly an ideal situation. That being said, all of the performers seem to relish the shades of gray used in writing their characters, particularly Amalric as the selfish and argumentative Henry, and Deneuve as the mother who freely admits she never really cared for him. As an ensemble, A Christmas Tale has few rivals. But in terms of plot, it’s sadly lacking. Why pay to be miserable when the real Christmas is distressingly close at hand?