Film Review: 'R Xmas (2001)

Hollywood has taught us that bad things can happen to people on Christmas. If you happen to be protagonists of a Christmas film directed by Abel Ferrara, those things are likely to be very bad. His 2001 crime drama ’R Xmas makes things even worse by having plot set in New York City during Christmas 1993, with opening titles reminding audience that those were the last days of Mayor David Dinkins, whose administration was notoriously unable to put stop to drug-related crime wave on the streets of Big Apple. At first, it seems that two main and unnamed characters – Puerto Rican man (played by Lilo Brancato Jr.) and his glamorous wife (played by Drea De Matteo) – seem detached from poverty, violence and chaos, since they live in expensive upper class apartment and can afford to have their beloved daughter (played by Lisa Valens) attend elite private school. However, it is soon revealed that the source of that privileged lifestyle is quite shady. Husband makes money by driving his BMW in troubled parts of the city and gets involved in heroin traffic. The wife is soon contacted by strange man (played by Ice-T) who informs her that her husband is abducted and that the only way he will be returned if she brings as much money and drugs as she can in next 24 hours. Wife begins frantic search for relatives and business associates who could help her in ordeal.

Abel Ferrara gained a lot of fame and notoriety for uncompromising portrayals of addiction, corruption, depravity and other forms of social dysfunction. ’R Xmas tries this approach through his very own Christmas story that would confront shining facade of American Dream with its ugly crime-based reality. It is good idea and this might explain why this film gained raving reviews among European, namely French, critics who were becoming increasingly anti-American during early years of George W. Bush. On the other hand, ’R Xmas failed to get proper cinema distribution in USA and American critics were significantly less enthusiastic. This has less to do with politics, which Ferrara mishandled due to his cryptic closing titles dedicated to Rudy Giuliani, and more with the direction that insists on slow, repetitive scenes and uninspired dialogue that would make this film much longer than its running time of 85 minutes would suggest. What makes ’R Xmas watchable is fine acting, especially in the case of Drea De Matteo which valiantly works to both exploit and discard the screen image based on her portrayal of Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos. Same can be said of Lilo Brancato Jr., but his and De Matteo’s efforts aren’t enough to spare audience of a disappointment.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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