Pretty much ignored when released in 1985, One Magic Christmas has hung in there and found an audience thanks to a solid script and Mary Steenburgen’s compelling lead performance as Ginny Hanks Grainger, a morose wife and mother whose Christmas spirit has been buried beneath mountains of unpaid bills, a soul-crushing job, and a coming eviction.
Help arrives in the form of Gideon (Harry Dean Stanton), the unlikeliest of angels, who’s been tasked with the impossible: reminding this despairing mother of two of her blessings so that the Christmas spirit ripped from her by the hard realities of life can return. How far Gideon’s willing to go in order to accomplish this makes for some of the darkest moments you’ll ever come across in a holiday film, especially one from Disney.
This quiet, understated and sometimes grim spin on It’s A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol is not for the wee ones. But at 88-minutes there’s a ton of story and you have to be grateful that when the end credits roll no one On High has paid the bills or found Ginny and her family new housing. The film understands that God is not our own personal deus ex machina and that the angels can only help the willing to refocus their perspective on to that which really matters. Miracles are short-term solutions, it’s wisdom that helps you go the distance.
Obviously shot in not-America (Canada), the foggy, wet locations work to the film’s advantage in giving the story’s tone a feel of generic sameness and desperation. The two kids, one played by Sarah Polley, are terrific, and the always welcome Elias Koteas makes the best of a supporting role.
Catching this unprepared as to what you’re in for is best. Just be prepared enough to know this ain’t Miracle On 34th Street, and I doubt it could get produced in today’s era of hyper-high concept studio offerings and sterile, flourescent, 133 minute, indie Oscar bait. But don’t let that scare you away. When all is said and done, One Magic Christmas is a gritty life-affirming story set in a world where God exists and cares for us enough to practice some mighty tough-love.
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