With the holiday season fast approaching, lots of Christmas specials and Christmas themed movies are showing up at my door. Noëlle is a film that received a limited theatrical release last year, and carries the Dove Family-approved seal. David Wall–who looks exactly like a cross between Robert Redford and Owen Wilson–writes, directs, and stars in this heartwarming tale of a crotchety (I can’t say old, because he’s rather young and appealing), priest who learns the value of love and caring, over the course of one Christmas.
Wall plays Father Jonathan Keene, a man clearly haunted by past indiscretions. Keene is the Church’s hatchet man, a priest who is dispatched to failing parishes to shut them down. His latest assignment finds him in Cape Cod, at the Church of his old friend Father Simeon Joyce (Sean Patrick Brennan). The congregation is small, much of the community doesn’t care one way or another about, Father Joyce drinks a bit and likes to “borrow” from the Church’s offering to pay for medical bills of his congregants and a beautiful woman (Kerry Wall) dealing with a terrible burden and facing an impossible choice.
Of course, when Father Keene first arrives at the Church in Cape Cod, he’s less than moved by the plight of his old friend and his congregants. But, since it’s almost Christmas, there’s an outside shot that Father Keene will emerge from the 90-minute runtime a changed man, smacked with the realization that he has the capacity to love and accept forgiveness.
Because their old friends, Father Keene gives Simeon Joyce one more chance to save his church. The idea: stage a live nativity scene to draw in old and new believers to the church. Predictably, the live nativity scene doesn’t go as well as Father Simeon had hoped. Most of the parishioners are older men and women who deliver over-the-top performances. While trying to ensure that the live nativity goes well and the Church doesn’t get shut down, Joyce and Keene try and convince skeptical librarian Marjorie (Kerry Wall) to play Mary. Just as Marjorie agrees, she’s told she’s not allowed to participate since she’s pregnant and unmarried to a man who has no intention of ever marrying her. However, Marjorie brings out something in Keene that he may have forgotten existed, or chose to never think about. They are an unlikely pair that provides something for each other, something they need in order to move forward and begin again.
Not long after all of this, Father Joyce hands over his position to father Keene until the Church is shut down. The parishioners decide to start planning the traditional Christmas party. From there, lies are discovered, truths told and lives unraveled only to be mended again.
There you have it–a heart-warming little film that’s kind of syrupy at times, but highly effective as a moving human drama that centers on the spiritual side of the Christmas season. One caution: This being a Dove movie, it has very Christ-centric message to it, and the message, while powerful, may leave those uninterested in Christianity pretty bored. And it is a PG-rated, family-safe viewing experience, but the themes are rather adult–parents, be prepared for some conversations you may not be super-excited to have with small children.
Noëlle is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is an adequate presentation of the low-budget production, although it wasn’t without some minor problems. Sharpness and detail were somewhat uneven, while some scenes look moderately crisp and clear, some interiors and other sequences appeared mildly soft and – at times – slightly fuzzy.
Aside from the varying sharpness, some minor edge enhancement and artifacting is seen on a couple of occasions. The print appeared crisp and clear, aside from one or two very slight specks. Colors were intentionally subdued and cold.
The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The dialogue-driven presentation sounded fine, with dialogue sounding clear and natural.
The only special features are previews for other Paramount titles.
