A most happy hour called film premiere rollout season, meet last call at Grandma’s house; who else is ecstatic?
Ever offbeat and on-point arthouse cinema darling Tyler Taormina’s third feature–his most mainstream consumable effort yet—has picked up nearly 100 more theaters, in addition to the initial 300 reported, for its wide theatrical release this month.
The low-budget, high-scale family drama/teen comedy was made by a mass assemblage of predominantly local cast, crew and additional “hero” resources recruited by Smithtown-raised creatives turned rising Hollywood movie-makers.
“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” which Metacritic just ranked at No. 11 on its updated list of “Top Holiday Films of the 21st Century,” will hit 395 theaters on Friday, November 8 after seeing its limited release commence on Thursday.
In New York, Regal Deer Park Stadium at the Tanger Outlets will host continuous screenings of the film for at least the next week.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Manhattan locations will also play the film through this weekend and beyond.
Joining them in the New York market as early theatrical release partners of the film that goes nationwide even more so on Nov. 15th are:
Bricktown Charleston Staten Island 10 (NY)
Cortlandt Town Center (Mohegan Lake, NY)
Crystal Run (Middletown, NY)
Galleria Mall 16 (Poughkeepsie, NY)
IFC Center (New York, NY)
Nanuet Mall Stadium (NY)
Palisades Center 21 (NY)
Port Chester 14 (NY)
AMC Danbury 16 (CT)
Marquis 16 (Trumbull, CT)
East Hanover 12 (NJ)
Lynbrook 13 (NJ)
Regal Pohatcong 12 (NJ)
“Christmas Eve” will also screen elsewhere in New York state, with Market Arcade (Buffalo), Walden Galleria Stadium 16 (Cheektowaga), Quaker Crossing 18 (Orchard Park) and Transit Center 18 (Williamsville) in the Buffalo market all on board.
The film is rated PG-13; given its extensively marketed “2 for 1” structure, ‘Christmas’ has something for the whole family and friend group to enjoy.
Writes The New York Times in its Nov. 7th “Critic’s Pick” spotlight: “As in his earlier features ‘Ham on Rye’ and ‘Happer’s Comet,’ Taormina gestures toward the surreal, especially once he steps outside the main location. Two police officers (Michael Cera and Gregg Turkington) spend much of the movie in stone-faced silence; their New York City uniforms suggest that they’re operating out of their jurisdiction.”
But enough about these cops—they are but a Greek Chorus-esque C-story compared to the two-pronged main event, a baked-in, and fully-baked double bill of goods audiences grow all consumed with from the very moment Ricky Nelson’s vocal stylings rush them back to a simpler time for the purest of heart.
Given the care and precision put in at the lens level as well, viewers with ample ties to the area in which it was set and filmed—Suffolk County—and from elsewhere are equally ushered into this snowglobe memory bank of a film that platforms many oddballs with more than a screw loose—and believe me, we mean that in the most endearing way possible.
Joining the brewing, intra-sibling warfare regarding the fate of a fading matriarch’s perhaps forever home no more on the film’s main card: a midpoint melee that commences when the malcontent teens gone stir crazy jettison away from the party they were born into, out of a rite-of-passage preference for the party of their choosing.
They certainly were not looking for requiem rife within a replica home mailbox, and yet they inadvertently pulverize it on their breakaway from Dodge—leaving behind slugs of eggnog here, and calculated sips of wine while mom stares daggers there, in favor of beer-flavored and green, and even more obscene pastures—all the same.
“Miller’s Point” is a Christmas movie more invested in atmosphere, and that qualities of wintry light, than in holiday cheer,”Ben Keninsberg concludes in his NY Times review, “...and that somehow makes it all the more warm.”
Beyond the aforementioned deadpan duo, the film’s ensemble is fronted by notable performers such as Ben Shenkman, Maria Dizzia, Elsie Fisher, Francesca Scorsese and Sawyer Spielberg.
Alongside this impressive cast: an abundance of local actors who netted their big break when tabbed to star in this resonate love letter to peak holiday time, ultra loud and utterly lively family—and surrogate family—gatherings on Long Island.
Amanda Donnadio, a Ronkonkoma native and alum of Connetquot High School’s 2007 class, was an Associate Producer on the film—which required her to wear many different hats throughout production, including casting her cousin Julianna Wohlrab in a key child role within the seemingly unending “Balsano bunch.”
Donnadio and her family traveled with the ‘Christmas Eve’ convoy as far as the Cannes Film Festival in France in May,and as close by as the Hamptons International Film Festival last month to serve up their passion project’s subduedly trippy exquisiteness to surprised, but nevertheless mystified audiences.
“Working on the film was pure joy, even during circumstances like roughing it through cold weather and late-night shoots because the cast and crew were nothing short of magical,” said Donnadio. “ I think we all realized we were making something special, but to finally see it come to life on screen has been an experience of wonderment for me. I’m amazed at what our little Long Island indie has done.”
Coming from a large family, Donnadio believes the rhythm of the film encapsulates what the holidays are truly like for Long Island suburbanites.
“It’s a slice of life movie… an authentic vignette of holidays past that really pinpoints emotional nostalgia,” she adds. “I think the way Tyler captures community and coming of age is really significant too.”
Donnadio, amongst others, wields much praise for the set decoration. Paris Peterson, of Los Angeles, had the unique distinction of becoming a temporary Long Islander per the demands of the shoot—he lived in the Holbrook home where they primarily filmed.
Like Taormina and his Omnes Films collaborators, ‘Christmas Eve’ director of photography Carson Lund and cameraman Michael Basta, Peterson, also an actor with credits that include the film “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” and Hulu’s “The Dropout,” was named one of the “25 Rising Faces in Independent Cinema” by Filmmaker Magazine.
“I spent about half of our art budget just on wallpaper alone,” Peterson told the outlet, “because I knew that the house was a character in itself.” He swapped out the home’s furniture with crew and neighborhood donations, which “ended up making the movie feel more authentic because these were people’s real things.”
“They had a story of their own behind them,” Peterson added. On that shared note, Donnadio also commends the vintage clothing used and picturesque locations tabbed—singling out Cella Bagels of Selden, which operated as the Hot Bagels of Smithown-inspired, uncoincidentally named “Mott Bagels” within ‘Christmas Eve.’
“Promoting filmmaking on Long Island is great for everyone and I am happy to do it and would gladly do it again, especially when it involves great people,” said John Rose, owner of the 50s-styled, pop culturally-charged joint which exists as one of the more integral characters to grace Taormina’s Miller’s Pointed frame.
Much like Spielberg’s burnout King “Splint,” Cella/Mott does so with high-impact, small screen time.
See moments like these select few—edited together with the feature-length fury of 1,000 Little Vincent’s pizzas ordered at 3 a.m. on a cold February morning to feed a shivering yet sure-fire film crew—with a crowd who may not know the half of what went down behind the scenes, lest we continue to enlighten them; but gets the greater message of the film all the same.
Holidays are meant to be spent together, not apart.
Do that, and the Christmas yuletide which used to beam like sparks in and from your eyes just may come back into style after all.
Visit Fandango.com or Google “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point showtimes” to purchase a ticket to a screening in your area today!
'Christmas Eve in Miller's Point'
Regal Deer Park Showtimes
Thurs., Nov. 7: 7:50 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 8: 12:40 p.m. | 6:20 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 9: 3:20 p.m. | 9:40 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 10: 12:40 p.m. | 6:20 p.m.
Mon., Nov. 11: 12:40 p.m. | 6:20 p.m.
Tues., Nov. 12: 12:40 p.m. | 6:20 p.m.
Weds., Nov. 13: 12:40 p.m. | 6:20 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 14: 12:40 p.m. | 6:00 p.m.
[Editor’s Note: South Shore Press Reporter Michael J. Reistetter is one of many local producers on “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.” We encouraged him not to be bashful in his ongoing coverage of a most noteworthy achievement for all involved. Support Mike and his production team by checking out their film; tickets are available for purchase all throughout this holiday season!]