Heartwarming, entertaining and another triumphant classic British Christmas film.
Director: Christopher Smith
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kit Connor, Stephen Graham, Ewen Bremner, Jodie Whittaker and Warwick Davis.
Rating: PG
There are good Christmas films and then there are heartwarmingly, brilliant Christmas films – and GET SANTA is definitely the latter.
Of course with Christmas drawing ever closer, it wouldn’t be the same without a good old-fashioned festive flick, however Christopher Smith‘s film is quite the opposite, in fact it is very modern and the film fairs well for it.
It tells the story of an ex-con man, Steve (Rafe Spall) who found himself serving time in prison after being found guilty of driving a getaway car in a robbery – except he failed to get away and as a result he was sent to do time. Leaving his wife and son behind, Steve was determined to be released, successfully fulfill his parole duties and rekindle his relationship with his son Tom (Kit Connor).
As always, things don’t go to plan and that’s all thanks to Father Christmas (Jim Broadbent) who can’t drive his new sleigh very well, in fact at all, as he finds himself crashing into Tower Bridge in London and his reindeers are running wild.
Seeking solitude and time to gather a plan, Santa absconds to Tom’s shed where he is discovered by the inquisitive child and enlists the youngster for his help – and of course his sceptical father who is just desperate to spend a normal day with his son and not to get into trouble with the law.
Anxious to get his reindeers back and restore some Christmas magic, Father Christmas tries to break into Battersea Dogs Home to steal back his beloved reindeers – quite a mighty task even for the King of Christmas himself! Needless to say, Santa, like his reindeers, also finds himself locked away.
Prison is definitely no place for a man claiming to be Father Christmas and the big FC needs to try and blend in. Sporting dodgy braids, a plaited beard and a prison suit, the bearded wonder finds himself banged up in Lambeth Prison. The film brings you a very different side to Santa, a vulnerable persona who heavily depends on the help of a fantastic father-and-son combination to ensure Christmas is not cancelled.
Jim Broadbent puts on a magical performance as the bearded present-bringer and is by far the best Father Christmas in a long time, in fact the best since David Attenborough. He oozes the warmth, compassion and gentle whole heartedness you come to expect from the sleigh riding, red suited hero of Christmas and also provides a lot of the best comical moments within his radiant, festive cheer and twinkly eyes.
Rafe spall and Kit Connor are very believable as the father and son duo, who provide a lot of the comedy, especially when onscreen with the reindeers who like to communicate in a very special way – and not out of their mouths!
GET SANTA is heartwarming, funny and provides lots of festive cheer. This film looks set to do well at Christmas and will no doubt prove to be a big hit on DVD with everyone watching Jim Broadbent as Santa Claus for a long time to come.
Verdict
