Saint Nick of Bethlehem
Directors: Spencer Folmar, Daniel Roebuck
Cast: Daniel Roebuck, Cathy Moriarty, Duane Whitaker
Cert: PG
Running time: 93 mins
Loosely based on a true story, this Christmas-themed heart-warmer is co-written and directed by Spencer Folmar and lead actor Daniel Roebuck. It’s produced by Hard Faith, a production company who, as their name suggests, specialise in Christian-themed movies, to the point where Jesus Christ even gets a special thank you in the credits at the end.
Set in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the film centres on sixty-something, white-bearded former teacher Nick McNulty (Roebuck), who lives with his mother, Betty (Cathy Moriarty), and has never quite recovered from a devastating double loss, when his sixteen year old son died, less than a month after his wife walked out on him. Things pick up for Nick when beloved former girlfriend Mary (Marsha Dietlein) returns to Bethlehem following a recent divorce, and the pair slowly rekindle their romance.
Meanwhile, Betty urges Nick to repair his relationship with his grumpy brother Charlie (Duane Whitaker), who owns a local used car dealership. Given that it’s nearly Christmas, customers start responding to Nick, because he looks so much like Santa Claus (he just happens to own a red, fur-lined jacket), and soon he finds a new purpose in life, visiting children’s hospitals and so on.
The central story is simple, but it touches on powerfully emotional, achingly relatable themes of grief and loss, as well as the central message about the transformational power of human kindness, a common thread of Christian-friendly movies. Here, Nick forges a bond with Tucker (Elias Kemuel), the young son of his co-worker (Jennifer Porrata), who has recently lost his father, and their conversation about grief and moving on is the beating heart of the film, as well as its main message.
On top of that, the film’s treatment of middle-aged romance is extremely sweet, though arguably a little under-written. Indeed, the film could probably have used a few more scenes of Roebuck and Dietlein together.
As Nick, Roebuck is charming and likeable, investing his character with a palpable warmth that spreads to the entire community. However, the stand-out in the cast – and a stroke of genius by the casting department – is Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull, Matinee), who’s an absolute delight as Nick’s wise-cracking mother. Here’s hoping she gets similar roles in more mainstream fare after this.
Ultimately, this is a very simple story, and there isn’t really enough of it to fill out the 93 minute running time, seeing as there’s next to no conflict or drama of any kind. Still, Roebuck and Moriarty’s performances ensure that it’s worth seeing, and it’s hard to hate a film that celebrates goodness and community generosity with such warm-hearted sincerity.
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