Christmas is the time of the year when corporate entities pretend to have souls in order to make money. Hollywood is no different, and so there are a slew of Christmas-themed movies throughout the years, all of varying degrees of quality. So of course we must ask: what makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie? Is merely being set at Christmas enough or do you need something more?
Personally, I think Christmas is about redemption and family, and those themes are the ones that I predominantly considered when compiling this list.
Also this is not going to address the "is Die Hard a Christmas movie" debate because I haven't seen Die Hard. Not got anything against it, except that too many male protagonists in American sitcoms seem obsessed with it.
10) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Pretty much every Harry Potter film has some sort of festive sequence (my favourite is probably the Godric's Hollow moment in Deathly Hallows Part 1) but this one wins out for the sheer cuteness factor. Its cast of little children who admittedly can't quite act yet, combined with its gentler family-friendly tone and more innocent outlook means its perfect viewing for Christmas. Sure, it's one of the weaker Potter films but if you'd rather watch people getting killed by a nose-less wannabe-Hitler on Christmas Eve then you're a bit weird.
9) Home Alone/Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Grouping these together because they are exactly the same movie, only the second one's set in New York and includes a cameo from another wannabe-Hitler. I don't think anyone needs any introduction to Home Alone- it's essentially a live-action slapstick cartoon, anchored by Macauley Culkin's performance and elevated by one of John Williams' best scores. Neither of them are actually very good but they're filled with just about enough deranged fun to entertain most people.
8) Frozen
I don't know if there's any actual reference to Christmas in Frozen but there's snow and it's about the oft-neglected sisterly bond in families so it's good enough. Again not that anyone needs to be told, but Frozen is actually pretty decent and through some form of Stockholm syndrome, Olaf has become my favourite character.
=> insert your own witty Let It Go pun here and something about Adele Dazeem
7) Happiest Season
This is the most recent film on the list, having been released only this year. The first queer Christmas rom-com, it follows Kristen Stewart's Abby, whose plans to propose at Christmas are scuppered when she discovers her girlfriend hasn't come out to her conservative family yet. Completely charming, it plays with familiar rom-com tropes and makes them sing- the characters are utterly believable and the jokes are first and foremost funny, boosted by its terrific cast (including but not limited to Mackenzie Davis, Allison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy). While it might not be the most revolutionary of films, it gently works because of its genuine emotional stakes. A most joyous film to watch.
6) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Shane Black's first film to star Robert Downey Jr struggling to find his way at the holiday season was also not his last- he later directed Iron Man 3 which also had a festive setting. This one sees RDJ play Harry Lockhart, a petty thief who stumbles his way into Hollywood and into the middle of a murder mystery, reconnecting along the way with his childhood sweetheart played by Michelle Monaghan and Val Kilmer's private investigator. It has everything you'd expect from Shane Black- smart, funny dialogue with intricate plotting, but with a more sentimental twist- Harry's arch is genuinely heart-felt and moving, and the splashes of romance and festive cheer give this violent crime thriller an-almost fantastical edge. Somehow, Black finds the perfect recipe for his disparate mix of elements and the result is excellent festive fare.
5) The Muppet Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a story that's been done to death on screen, but the always-charming Muppets inject a lot of fun and charm into their Dickensian roles. The film only works, however, because Michael Caine, in the central role, plays it completely straight; he absolutely sells Scrooge's turn and gives the film its emotional heart. The songs by Paul Williams are genuinely good and help the film find the sweet spot between whimsy and sentiment.
4) Catch Me If You Can
Steven Spielberg directs this film based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, a con-man who successfully swindled his way through millions of dollars, posing as a pilot, doctor and lawyer amongst others. Played by a youthful Leonardo DiCaprio, and with Tom Hanks as the FBI agent hunting him, it's flashy and fast-paced, zipping along as we follow Abagnale's daring schemes across the world, but at its heart it's about broken families: Frank's running away from the divorce of his parents while Hank's character is a frustrated father in a failing marriage. The Christmases that come and go are all important moments, but the pivotal one comes on a lonely Christmas Eve when both characters realise that they have nobody else to talk to except each other in their game of cat-and-mouse.
3) Tangerine
Tangerine is perhaps the most unique film on this list. While the vast majority of festive films are centred around well-off white families in a winter wonderland, this focuses on two transgender sex workers, Sin-Dee and Alexandra, on Christmas Eve in sun-drenched LA. When Sin-Dee hears of rumours that her boyfriend and pimp has cheated on her, she sets out to get to the bottom.
It's not just the climate that sets this out from your usual Christmas movie -though the difference is striking, with its vivid colours (the film was shot entirely on iPhones)- but its exploration of the celebration of Christmas in different communities, with their chaos and complexity distilled vividly. Swinging between moments of bristling humour and shocking immediacy, it's a thrilling, alive reminder of the universality of Christmas and the importance of kindness.
2) It's a Wonderful Life
Frank Capra's 1946 film is an enduring holiday classic, with good reason. Starring Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, an unconscious Good Samaritan whose life has shaped far more people than he realises. When on a desperate Christmas Eve he considers ending it all, his guardian angel appears to show him a world where he was never born. It's a film that's not afraid to go to very dark places, typified by Stewart's performance, which deftly negotiates the shifts in Bailey's character, as his life falls apart from that of a happy family man.
Rooted in both the trauma and optimism of an America recovering from the Great Depression and Second World War, it's an ultimately hopeful film enshrined in the values of generosity and kindness.
1) Carol
And here we are. Todd Hayne's film is also a work possessing great beauty and pain, following the relationship between Rooney Mara's store clerk Therese and Cate Blanchett's eponymous Carol, a woman in a disintegrating marriage. The relationship blossoms alongside Carol's divorce, and threatens to become a bargaining chip in the custody battle for her daughter.
Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Patricia Highsmith, the festivities encapsulate the crux of the story- while Christmas is a time of bright lights with the potential for exquisite beauty, it also comes in the cruellest season. Christmas at its core is about love surviving winter's icy grip and in Carol, we can only hope the same thing unfolds.