Film Review
‘Maxwell’s’ stands out in Catholic film genre

Most families celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmastime, but mainstream Christmas films show virtually no trace of such devotion. Instead, the movies focus more on the dysfunction within families who don’t recognize Christ.

“Christmas at Maxwell’s” — a film from Laufer Film, a Catholic independent film company — is not the typical Christmas film. It does establish the meaning of a Christian Christmas, but lacks many of the positive qualities major studio films possess.

“Christmas at Maxwell’s” is a good film in comparison to many of the other specifically religious films today that lack the budgets and experienced filmmaking from which non-religious films benefit.

The film is not bad, but mediocre when compared to movies with a vastly larger amount of resources available for production.

Unfortunately, the greatest weakness in “Christmas at Maxwell’s” is in the plot line and writing, an area more expensive cameras or a longer production period would not have affected.

“Christmas at Maxwell’s” chronicles the story of a family of four struggling to determine how to handle the reality of a mother with terminal cancer. The two children choose faith and trust in God while the father of the family, Andrew Austin, played by Andrew May, remains in denial.

The tale naturally leads to touching moments, but also provides confusion in a backstory that seems to blame the cancer on the trauma from a past abortion. The film is best when it is asking questions about faith in God’s will and not trying to mix the drama associated with cancer with that of abortion within the same 90-plus minute time span.

The surplus of characters introduced once and then never heard from again also injures the flow of the film, making it disjointed. There was enough depth in the family relationships to keep the film interesting without bringing in such a large number of supporting characters that are ultimately uninteresting because they are never explained as relevant to the story.

Technically speaking, “Christmas at Maxwell’s” hits just above mediocre. The cinematography is solid and camera angles are interesting, but the lighting is frustratingly poor in some scenes, at times making it difficult to even see the actors’ faces.

Although the acting in “Christmas at Maxwell’s” is not excellent — it is good. Jack Hourigan plays the role of Suzi Austin, the wife and mother dealing with cancer and the approaching reality of leaving her family behind, extremely well. Andrew May acts the role of the husband in denial well also, but comes across as overly dramatic at times in the film. The rest of the ensemble does a decent job with their minor roles. The main story is wrapped up in the energy that is believably portrayed between Hourigan and May.

“Christmas at Maxwell’s” does not set a new standard in film making in general, but in terms of Catholic film making, it most definitely stands out. It is a quality film that is far from flawless, but at the same time manages to convey a message of faith in a — for the most part — non-cheesy way. It is a story of faith, love and the struggle that comes with both of those powerful forces. Thus, even though it lags at times and views as amateur at others, it is a film worth watching for any Catholic looking for an uplifting and uniquely Catholic message.

Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.