Lost Christmas [PG]

Orphaned the previous Christmas, young Goose lives with his away-with-the-pixies grandmother, spending his time stealing goods and earning money by selling them to kind-hearted fence, Frank. Then on Christmas Eve Goose meets Anthony, a stranger who does not know who he is but seems to have an inordinate amount of knowledge and psychic powers; being able to tell what people have lost by simply touching them. Enlisting Anthony’s help in finding his lost dog Mutt, Goose and Frank fatefully cross paths with Goose’s probation officer’s wife and, through Anthony’s magic and mystery, all their lives which had been so drastically devastated by loss last Christmas suddenly bear the promise of a second chance to make everything right. 

This was a beautiful movie. It’s often these movies that you’ve never heard of but randomly come across somehow that are the ones that really stand out. Lost Christmas was a mesmerising holiday movie that, rather refreshingly, did not feel like a holiday movie. I loved it. 

Orphaned the previous Christmas, young Goose lives with his away-with-the-pixies grandmother, spending his time stealing goods and earning money by selling them to kind-hearted fence, Frank. Then on Christmas Eve Goose meets Anthony, a stranger who does not know who he is but seems to have an inordinate amount of knowledge and psychic powers; being able to tell what people have lost by simply touching them. Enlisting Anthony’s help in finding his lost dog Mutt, Goose and Frank fatefully cross paths with Goose’s probation officer’s wife and, through Anthony’s magic and mystery, all their lives which had been so drastically devastated by loss last Christmas suddenly bear the promise of a second chance to make everything right. 

Studded with a minimal cast, but boasting some big talent, Lost Christmas really stood out from other holiday movies for me because of its cold, biting, and harsh realism. Set against the miserable and cold Manchester backdrop and filled with characters who are just as harsh, the film’s moving message about second chances and making things right beautifully contrasts the film’s setting and makes the ending all the more beautiful and moving. 

Eddie Izzard, who stars as Anthony, delivers a beautiful performance that is simple and sincere, but at the same time manages to lighten the miserable atmosphere of the story with funny and out-of-context spurts of information. He’s beautiful! I love Eddie Izzard. 

Starring Jason Flemying, Geoffrey Palmer, Sorcha Cusack, Steven Mackintosh, Christine Bottomley, and introducing Larry Mills as Goose, Lost Christmas is a really beautiful holiday movie filled with drama, loss, magic, and light comedy. It’s really just a beautiful story!