With an ample number of Christmas releases dotting every OTT platform, Netflix released one of its own, The Noel Diary, with a runtime of 100 minutes on November 24, 2022. Starring Justin Hartley of This Is Us fame, Barrett Doss, James Remar, Bonnie Bedelia and more, the movie sports a very compact star-cast. It was directed by Charles Shyer, while the screenplay was done by him along with Rebecca Connor and David Golden.
The plot features the debonair best-selling author Jake Turner, who’s got all the ladies swooning for him but he’s the type to stick it out alone till the end. Soon an unexpected (not so for the viewers) turn brings Rachel into his life. Introducing herself as the daughter of his years’ old nanny, she seeks her birth mother to string her fractured identity together, while Jake, himself returns to his childhood home upon his mother’s demise as she leaves all her belongings in his possession.
Netflix’s log-line for the movie description reads:
Jake doesn’t let anyone get close. Then Rachel walks into his life. Their connection is clear, but amid pain and loss, will they take a chance on love?
-The Noel Diary Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers-
The story picks up with Hartley’s Jake or Jacob coming back to his hometown, meeting an old next-door acquaintance who saw him live through his childhood while also witnessing the troubles faced by his mother. A much-later revealed tragedy unfolds the cause of a broken family but coincidentally he meets Rachel who desires the opposite – to reunite with her birth mother’s identity in any way possible.
Although they are strangers, both get on well quite soon and start sifting through the belongings of Jake’s mother to find a piece related to Rachel’s mother. The journey of it all brings them even closer and soon they’re out and about on their road adventure to trace both of their pasts through a snow-decked trail with melodious Christmas tunes soaring in the air.
When you first begin watching this film, it hits you that it carries the essence of the holiday and the genre of these kinds of movies well. It seems like one of those things that you can’t bring yourself to hate but with its progression, the mist collected over these characters starts to slide away. And again, they don’t emerge out as detestable individuals either, but you can’t seem to shower them with absolute love either.
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One may find oneself questioning the idea of such films. They often portray various acts as stepping off points for the characters to head into whichever territory they deem appropriate in a positively architecture environment by the writer. Does that mean that just because it’s Christmas, all of their actions are sanctioned? Which then brings us to – what may be happiness for one, may not be the same for another, especially the minor characters.
Presenting the classic image of the season and the holiday, the events unfold in a manner to bring families closer, as has always been the priority of this movie genre. In that sense, it pulls along the familiar feel good nature of the story, with prime attention paid to the conversations between the characters, that go on to reveal much more than one can decipher any other way.
Seeds of interracial intermingling are sown, which soon bloom into a heartfelt interaction. The vision, however, once again circles around merely the two leads, on whom the universe coalesces, barely having room for anyone else to get their happy ending.
The Noel Diary: Final Thoughts
As one finds the end closer, questions concerning the likability of Doss’ Rachel emerge. There’s no surprise element as to what’s going to happen next, thus with its formulaic world building tactics, the film introduces us to characters who may have initially brought a speck of a smile on our faces, but eventually don’t leave us with enough emotional quotient to feel for, despite their histories.
I still consider it to be a merry watch considering the theme. Just like that, yet another title is added to your list of guilty pleasures with a cliched arc that may be an appropriate watch for the season, but one that you’re unlikely to come back to the next time. And though it would’ve been better if the characters had a bit more story in them to tell us, the few positive takeaways from the film still have to be the chemistry shared between the leading pair and the cinematic beauty of Christmastime pictured by the director’s eye (plus the adorable third lead – the dog).
The Noel Diary is now streaming on Netflix.
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