The Noel Diary

As a psychotherapist and relationship specialist I could not let this movie pass without identifying the toxicity of the relationship dynamics and the unhealthy role models it is setting. It took two characters with trauma and insecure/avoidant attachment from abandonment, had them "fall in love" over two days, and one of them abandons the other without any face to face resolution and repair. The other one then chases her out of his abandonment wounds and fears, and in the end they show them getting together (after the former suddenly abandons her fiance without working on it or a healing period right after she cheated on him) as if this is a triumphant celebratory moment. For the year 2022 I would have hoped we'd be past this, and have healthier relationship role models. This is not 1985, self awareness and self responsibility and building trust over time to fall in love are sexy today. I hope Hollywood consults with therapists in the future, even Gen Z on Instagram knows better than to think this toxic storyline is "heartwarming". It's very disheartening and damaging. Hartley's main character said it himself: you have to get the ending right, and the writers here astronomically failed.

I don't think I'm even going to make it to the end of the film which happens rarely for me. There is zero chemistry between the two main characters, in fact it feel cringe between them. Just comes across completely fake. I don't think the opening of their meet did any favours as they had her creepily outside the house looking in. The story line about the mother and her baby is nice but then when it hits back to current times it's just awkward again. I watched it due to Justin as I love him in "this is me". He is trying but it's just not working. 😟 Such a shame as I had high hopes for this. My advice would be not to bother watching it. I just think if they'd eliminated the love story it could have worked.

This movie is awesome. It's a tad darker than your usual holiday fare, but that is not an insult. It had a real story with a pretty good mystery inside it. It unfolds slowly and beautifully. The cast was uniformly exceptional, standout performances by James Remar and Essence Atkins.(small role but extremely moving) But the rest of the cast was all great top to bottom, too. Justin Hartley is perfect as the lead. He has a touch of gravitas to go with the internal sadness the character has. It's a journey of humanity and growth and for JH, I'm sure he loved playing this role. I had high hopes for this movie and it delivered. I highly recommend watching this one.