'The Holiday Stocking' (2022)
Opening thoughts: The previous 2022 Hallmark Christmas films were pretty patchy. There were some good ones, 'Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas' in fact was great. There were some bad ones too, such as 'Christmas Bedtime Stories' and 'A Maple Valley Christmas'. It is always good to see non-Hallmark regulars in lead roles and here the leads were relatively unfamiliar names to me. Have no problems with many actors and actresses being featured regularly as there are Hallmark regulars who have consistently impressed, just that it is nice to have new actors to shine.
While not as great as 'Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas', 'The Holiday Stocking' was very well executed, well-meaning and poignant. As far as 2022 Hallmark Christmas films go, 'The Holiday Stocking' is one of the best ones. Also one of the best 2022 Christmas films in general, being one of the few to be close to great. It is another example of serious themes and drama being done well by Hallmark, one of the best from 2022 to me.
Bad things: It is not flawless, though there is little wrong with it. For my tastes, it could have been longer by about 10-15 minutes in order to flesh out some of the supporting characters more.
Particularly the male roles, here on the underwritten side.
Good things: However, 'The Holiday Stocking' is very well acted by the whole cast. BJ Britt in particular has some very powerful dramatic moments, particularly when opening up (very difficult to do and worthy of admiration whenever anybody does it). It was very easy to care for the characters, ones that will resonate for anybody who has had, or has, dysfunctional family relationships (speaking from experience).
Furthermore, 'The Holiday Stocking' is very sincere emotionally and true to life. It never feels melodramatic, a very easy trap in this type of film and fallen into a lot, or overly sappy. The ending did make me cry. The twistier parts of the story didn't come over as predictable, too simple or/and shoehorned, a surprise actually. The script flows well and is well meaning and honest with little fluff, filler or mawkishness. It is beautifully filmed, with lovely scenery, and appropriately scored.
Closing thoughts: Overall, very well done.
8/10.
