“It’s a film that embraces a sense of community we don’t always buy into collectively”: Alfred Enoch and Kaya Scodelario on This Is Christmas

There is a tendency within the Christmas movie genre toward the most preposterous of premises. No one really knows why, it’s just the way it is. It’s always refreshing, then, to find at least a tangential grounding in reality – a Christmas movie world with a passing connection with our own. This Is Christmas, from director Chris Groggin, delivers just that, anchoring its story on a commuter train from Langton into London and presenting a vision of what could happen if the regulars in a carriage actually struck up conversation with one another, rather than pretending the faces they see around them each day are unfamiliar strangers.

The film’s further secret weapon is its casting, with two very different, but both iconic British exports: Kaya Scolderio (of Skins fame) and Alfred Enoch (who came of age in the Harry Potter franchise) take on the central roles of Adam and Emma, two commuters with very different careers and personalities, who nonetheless find commonality in their millennial malaise, where the lives they’ve built for themselves seem to have fallen short of all they had hoped. A glorious roll call of cameos from Timothy Spall to Joanna Scanlan make up the well crafted motley crew of characters who also frequent their train, and it’s a potent mix. Amid talk of Christmas party venues for the disparate group to all celebrate the festive season together, genuinely touching moments occur, such as the connection between Spall’s lonely ageing Ray and timid young Dean (Jack Donoghue), while real-life issues of facing modern Britain are given a nod, whether the breakdown in our communities, train line privatisation, the spectre of Margaret Thatcher or the cost of living crisis.

That’s not to say they aren’t plenty of Christmas romcom tropes thrown in at a pretty steady rate, as well as a Christmassy rose-tinted edge given to the film’s portrayal of London and British town life that recalls the best of the Bridget Jones era. But the heartwarming chemistry between the cast, and the dusting of contemporary issues, keeps this movie from descending into fare gooier than an oven-baked camembert. 

The Upcoming had a lovely chat with the charismatic pair ahead of the film landing on Sky. They spoke about the joy of being cast in a British Christmas romcom, what they enjoyed most about working with each other and whether or not they are the kind of people to talk to strangers on a train…

Sarah Bradbury

This Is Christmas is released on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW on 9^th December 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for This Is Christmas here: