I just like my Xmas atmosphere fix and do not expect any great artistry from Hallmark- style romantic movies. Chose this one because of the title and story teaser. In the beginning, I quite liked Theodora's edge and Charlie's dark sensitivity and thought it would be developed throughout the movie. But it was as if their personalities suddenly changed, mellowed right to the mainstream, and it made no sense. Although the actors are good, a skilled director could have gotten so much more out of them. I found the dialogues awkward as well as the whole storyline and script. And the bad bad banker and investor characters? Not believable in the least - as if they were plucked out of Victorian ages :) Also, the movie looks and sounds like a cheap production with all the popping and hollow spaces. Shame, really.

I am a little at a loss as to how I feel about this film and I have read some interesting reviews by others. First I want to agree that there are full scenes that are stilted and awkward, making them uncomfortable to watch and taking you out of the film, like the first scene with the choir practice and the town mayor...I don't think it was the actors, I think it was the dialogue and the timing. Anyway, it could have used some better direction. Also, I have seen criticisms of the main actress who played Theodora by individuals who claim to only have watched the first ten minutes...which I think is unfair since they did not get to see her soften, in other words I think they should wait until the two bake cookies together or share a meal with meatloaf and pie at the diner before they judge her or her acting...I thought her transition from severe to softening seemed natural and worked with the chemistry between her and Charlie.

Now the story, Theodore has come to town to foreclose on a farm quickly for her firm during the holidays. What she doesn't know until she gets there is that the owner has just passed and they are holding a memorial at the farm where she interrupts to speak to the son Charlie who has been kept in the dark, because of her time constraints. Of course, Charlie doesn't understand how this could happen as his mom keeps good records and he asks for some time to look in to it. Meanwhile, Theodora falls on the property and severely sprains her ankle...having to stay with Charlie at the farm for a few days. It is at the farm that Theodora starts to soften and she starts to get suspicious that this foreclosure isn't as straightforward as she was lead to believe.

This was a little different than say the Hallmark holiday offerings, but still kind of a middle of the road romance.

I usually stick to Hallmark for my holiday film fix but I hadn't seen Michael Paré in a long time and I enjoy his acting so he's why I tried to watch. Story is usually my determining factor of whether a "bad" movie is watchable or not. Not this time. I liked the proposed premise but couldn't get past some things to even see Michael Paré in it. There was one scene I couldn't forgive or get past. It pissed me off and I turned it off in less than 10 minutes!

The character of Theodora was wholly, completely, and intensely unlikable, making it impossible to care about her. Who shows up at a funeral gathering the day someone dies and demands to speak with someone grieving within two hours? No sympathy expressed for their loss or her timing? Nope. Just stone cold, unfeeling bitch-faced rudeness for an issue that wasn't urgent or important? Shame on the writers! I hated her immediately and she became irredeemable. Part of that had to do with the actress who played her. I don't know who Sebrina Scott is, but she was severely miscast. "Severe" is the keyword in describing her acting.

Other characters were just plain bad, like Vernon Wells. To be fair, I thought the best, most natural, acting came from a minor character, Eric Six as Kelly. He became his role as if he was playing himself in the movie. He seems naturally talented and outshined everyone, including the writers and production.

Lastly, the cinematography and lighting were atrocious. It had a gloomy, eerie Halloween horror feel rather than a cheery Christmas one. It just looked depressing. And the music had issues that ranged from poor choices to wincing from the volume of it at times.

This was a hard pass for me.