Christmas Movie #18: Miracle On 34th Street

Is Richard Attenborough the best on screen Santa? On this evidence, yes, yes he is.

I haven't seen Miracle since I was quite young. I was expecting a silly kids film. What I've discovered (or rediscovered) is a funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking and surprisingly wise film about Christmas and the commercialism that surrounds it.

For the uninitiated, the film centres on an Old Man who basically believes himself to be Santa Claus. Most of the world around him either patronise him or play along, mainly because he's the nicest old man in existence. When he gets a job as a department store Santa he immediately boosts the profits of failing shop Cole's (hilariously illustrated in a scene where Alison Janney plays a disgruntled customer). But then the rival store across the street decides to ruin his reputation and, after an assault, he ends up in an institution which leads to a court case and a 'Save Santa' campaign.

Ok, so it is sentimental, but the admittedly silly plot is made bearable by a cast really giving it their all. Elizabeth Perkins makes an excellent cynic and her romance with a smooth but likeable Dylan McDermott is genuinely sweet. Mara Wilson, the go-to female child star of the 90's, is adorable and funny, and stays the right side of punchable. Which for me, watching a child act, is a big thing to say. Also, Simon Jones is in it! Yes, Arthur Dent! Ok, he's playing the most stereotypical Englishman ever, but hey! Arthur Dent! And Dexter's Dad. But yay Arthur Dent!

But it's truly Attenborough's film. It's much to his credit that the film never feels silly or that the idea of a man believing he's Santa Claus ever comes across as a nut job. It's a performance that could be the very definition of warm hearted. And when he's done wrong, it genuinely made me angry. No, seriously. God, I'm a sucker for this stuff.

The script (another one from John Hughes, who also wrote the Home Alones and Christmas Vacation) is witty and the gentle jabs at big business and Christmas being all about profit, aren't overplayed. It's also lovely that they leave the film essentially in doubt as to whether he is Santa. As a child, I always assumed he was. As a more cynical adult, more pessism settling in daily, I'm really not so sure. But a big part of me wants him to be Santa. In the film. Just in the film. Probably.

And it just feels right for this Christmas. It properly hit the spot. Sometimes watching several Christmas films has felt repetitive or they just haven't got me into that holiday spirit. But there I was, at 2am in the morning no less, smiling from ear to ear.