A new British festive film attempting to capture the magic of Christmas has landed on digital platforms, but does it deliver the seasonal cheer audiences crave?
A Love Actually Blueprint with Mixed Results
The Secret Santa Project, based on Tracy Bloom's novel and set within a London council's accounting department, weaves together multiple storylines in a manner reminiscent of Richard Curtis's classic. However, this ambitious approach yields only fleeting moments of the cosy charm essential to the genre.
Samantha Giles portrays Diane, the head of accounts who embodies the Christmas Grinch spirit. In a familiar London romcom trope, she is shown walking to work past iconic landmarks like Westminster Bridge and Big Ben. Her character wishes to cancel Christmas entirely to save council funds.
Her home life adds another layer, with Mark Williams playing her husband Leon, a pantomime director. Diane suspects he is having an affair with his production's Snow White. This narrative strand echoes Emma Thompson's poignant storyline in Love Actually but culminates in a resolution that lacks the same emotional impact and subtlety.
Office Dynamics and Underdeveloped Plots
The workplace setting introduces several other characters. Barrie Ryan English plays Jerry, Diane's second-in-command, who has developed feelings for a man he met in a coffee shop. Myla Carmen appears as Jolene, an enthusiastic graduate trainee whose Secret Santa Project aims to replace cheap novelty gifts with exchanged acts of kindness.
The standout performance comes from former EastEnders actor Charlie Brooks, who plays Stacey, a single mother navigating a new relationship with a boyfriend who is clearly unsuitable.
The film does succeed in one key area: it accurately portrays the nuanced dynamics of a long-standing office team, where colleagues tolerate each other's quirks with familiar eye-rolls and shared history.
Final Verdict on the Festive Flick
Despite these fleeting strengths, the movie's primary weakness lies in its conclusion. The happy endings for its characters feel unearned and sudden, potentially leaving viewers with a sensation compared to eating three-day-old turkey leftovers on a sherry hangover – somewhat unsatisfying and overly sweet.
The Secret Santa Project became available on various digital platforms starting 17 November. While it attempts to bundle the warmth of a feel-good Christmas narrative with interconnected stories, it ultimately musters only a brief flicker of the cosy charm that defines the best festive cinema.
