I want to write this as a flowchart, dividing readers into those who are familiar with mainstream Hindi cinema, those who are not, those who have seen Merry Christmas (2024) already, and those who have not. Instead, please forgive me the list-y nature of this that I hope will enable you to read what applies to you. 

Vision

Everyone likes director Sriram Raghavan, don’t they? Raghavan is a master at “same but different,” his love of the dark bits of humans who find themselves doing things they never expected to landing differently in each of his film. He renders violence and shocking choices almost mundane by setting them in landscapes as full of references to Hindi cinema as movie-watchers’ own lives are. (And maybe that’s why his Agent Vinod didn’t land for so many audiences in 2012: the nature of international espionage is that everyone does whatever it takes, and no spy should be surprised to find themselves doing something horrible.)

Bombay Vibes

This film is GORGEOUS. Having not been in Bombay in the 1980s when this is set, I can’t speak from lived experience, but it sure reminds me of the many, many Bombay-made films of that era I love.

Rich colors and textures; languorous roads; gentle sea breezes  statement architecture; and a diverse population strolling along together, although this time with Christians at the fore and treated as real people, not drunken comic relief characters. Film posters from India and abroad imply the watchful eyes and holy texts of the stars.

Not since Amelie have red and green looked so good together in set design, situationally appropriate and always reminding us how disquieting and unholy this particular Christmas Eve is.

Katrina

There is no current Indian actor whose work I dislike as much as Katrina Kaif’s, and she is the sole reason I didn’t watch this film when it first released. I just think she’s a bad actor, no matter how much she may have improved since her debut in the 2000s. Other than in dance numbers, every time I have seen her, I have been distracted by how little her face has to do with whatever else is going on in the scene. But here? Here, as Maria, the focus of the film, she is very good indeed. Going in, I was ready to accept her flatness as an asset to a character who, given the director’s tendencies, would surely be hiding something, but I didn’t even have to make that excuse. It’s like every nuance she never gave before had been stored up to be employed here. It’s about time. 

I won’t do a significant entry for Vijay Sethupathi because this is the first film I’ve seen him in. People I respect have said he’s great, so my expectations were high. He met them. Albert is a more reactive role than the in-charge Maria—as though the decision Albert made in the flashback made him less willing to make any more*—and Vijay’s small gestures and deadpan jokes felt perfect. 

A Noir Hallmark Holiday Movie of My Dreams??? 

Maybe. The tone is totally different, but the ingredients are there, and somehow everyone in this film carries a little bit of hope in their eyes, mirroring a city punctuated by the golden glow of Christmas lights rather than obscured by fog and shadows. Our heroine certainly wears a lot of red and our hero green…sort of, the colors tweaked for the unusual setting. She has a pattern; he has a striped shirt that is mostly covered up with a suit jacket. She goes to church. She’s effectively a single parent. Her apartment is tastefully decorated for Christmas, complete with candles, stars, and a tall tree covered in ornaments (or [ornaments+1], if you’re counting). She even owns a bakery!

But Lifetime this is decidedly not, so he’s the one returning after years away, dealing with the loss of a family member, and definitely not looking for love on his first day back home. A rushed proposal with a conveniently located diamond ring is as cookie-cutter as they come, and an almost animate Christmas tree ornament also feels straight out of the Hallmark stable. Instead of a montage of cookie-making or pageant-rehearsing, we get shots of violent destruction (inside, even!)  with axes and a chainsaw. The merrily puffing chimney is a sign of foul deeds, not a homey hearth. 

And finally, some spoiler-filled comments for those of you who have already seen this fantastic film. 

Did you see the solution coming? I didn’t. Given the director, the reveal of a body or two is no surprise, but the way they pulled off the principal murder was incredibly satisfying to me. Having the real estate version of “Surprise! There were secret twins!” was very filmi, despite the French source material. When the film ends, the unflappable Inspector Kamdar (Vinay Pathak) is about to have to question everyone all over again. Raghavan stopping our time with a story rather than fully concluding it frustrated me at first, but then I sank into a sense that emotionally everyone is set—or at least as set as they can be, given their past histories of bad romantic choices. The twinkling lights, truth-telling, and a serendipity-focused bottle of wine foreshadowed the happy ending. The last moments overwhelm any cynicism our leads were feeling as their fateful evening began.

* Spoiler: Albert’s claim that he can’t remember what he was doing at that key point in his life felt like the kind of self-protective lie that men who are generally mild-mannered tend to get away with.

Watch It!

When you’ve had enough saccharine moments in the holiday, turn this on. These are people with actual problems, and they are also people with actual connection and affection. What a delightful present it is for the mind and the senses. 

Merry Christmas is available on Netflix. Watch the trailer here. 

~~~

Beth Watkins appreciates an art deco cinema house.