[“Xmas Eve Eve” is the second film of my “5 Queer Holiday Shorts for 2022” post. To read the next review, “Christmas In Clyde”, click HERE. To read the previous review, “The Butch Who Stole Christmas“, click HERE.]
One of two films from this year’s queer holiday short film reviews that premiered among the festival circuit, “Xmas eve eve” is perhaps my favorite short film on the list! Set during the height of Covid restrictions, including face masks, job loss, and having to abandon major cities like New York City, this heartfelt story is a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish. And as if that weren’t enough to make it worth watching, it is a visually stunning film! Seriously, the way Directer/Writer Dazhi Huang frames each scene is something I can’t say I’ve seen before – or at least used in such a brilliant way. Read on to find out what makes “Xmas Eve Eve” so great!
Synopsis of “Xmas Eve Eve”
Xmas eve eve brings us back to a cold night in December 2020, in Queens, New York under semi-lockdown, where a chase between ex-lovers Dennis and Tom is happening within the overhead subway train.
The Critique
I absolutely LOVE “Xmas Eve Eve”. Everything about this film works out perfectly. To start off, the plot is both realistic and exciting. While some TV series were forced to deal with Covid when it stopped the world in 2020, but there actually aren’t many films or shorts that directly deal with the lockdowns, restrictions, and other issues we had to cope with. Writer/Director Dazhi Huang dives right in. Dennis is moving out of New York City due to his job shutting down from Covid and making the trek on the metro to the airport when his ex-lover, Tom, comes to stop him from leaving. Most everyone is wearing a mask of some sort, though like in real-life not everyone is complying with mask ordinances. (And thankfully, they opt to wear clear vinyl masks so that we can still see what Dennis and Tom are saying!) The metro and streets are practically empty as they work their way to the airport, again recreating the reality of lockdowns even in major metropolises.
The script is carefully written; dialogue is absent when none is needed, yet perfectly awkward when warranted. The dialogue between Dennis and Tom matches what you’d expect with an ex-lover after things ended awkwardly: strained and difficult at first, but slowly easing up as they recollect their time together. Naturally even though Dennis is merely trying to get to the airport, there are other issues that arise to thwart his goal – beyond Tom trying to stop him. I’m still not quite sure how Tom taking Dennis’ phone causes the entire bag of rubbish to end up strewn down the stairs of a metro stop… but it creates a delay that forces the two boys to talk to each other and admit their thoughts & feelings. Equally I love the juxtaposition between their hot and steamy dialogue in the Uber en route to the next station and getting “caught” making out while at a light! But most importantly, the script is so well written that it leaves us wanting to know what happens next.
A good script needs excellent actors to pull it off, and “Xmas Eve Eve” has that as well! Christian Elán Ortiz is incredible as Dennis, bringing a complete range of emotions to life. We fully understand everything he is feeling as the trip to the airport unfolds: the frustration and disappointment of having to move back home, the initial annoyance of Tom chasing after him, recalling the good times they shared, and so much more. However as the saying goes, it takes two to tango – and Javan Nelson‘s portrayal of Tom mirrors Dennis perfectly! Cocky and even a bit arrogant in thinking that he can stop Dennis from leaving, it’s clear that Tom actually likes Denis. And equally that Dennis has feelings for Tom, even confessing that he was heartbroken for months after Tom ghosted him earlier in the year. Their chemistry together makes their relationship utterly believable, a key facet to any successful film or short.
However the element that I absolutely love about “Xmas Eve Eve” is the breathtakingly stunning camera angles that Huang sets up and captures on screen! Right off the bat we get a glimpse as Dennis walks away from his apartment and down the street to meet the landlord. The camera is actually set across the street and trucks smoothly along the street at the same time. Soon after at the elevated metro station, the camera is stationary focused on Dennis while he awaits the train arriving into the station, zooming past as it slowly comes to a stop further down the platform. Or once Tom catches up with Dennis: Dennis is dragging his suitcase along the length of another station platform while Dennis walks behind – but the camera is slowly trucking as well from across the tracks.
However the best usage of camera and lens work is when the boys are caught making out in the Uber. The camera is from the vantage of guy on the street who’s live-streaming the two making out. We initially can see the guy’s face reflected on the window with the boys slightly out of focus, but even after the boys realise they’re being filmed and start to protest the camera keeps everyone’s faces in the frame – all in one shot thanks to utilizing the reflection! It’s simply stunning! When everything is added together, it makes this queer Christmas short film an excellent film to watch.
I initially discovered this awesome queer holiday short film from this year’s Boston LGBT Film Festival, as part of their shorts programs. I was captivated right away, and after watching it a handful of times to write my review, my opinion has not changed. If anything, I have even greater respect for the excellent script, acting, editing and most importantly – the skillful & beautiful camera work! Dazhi Huang has created a masterpiece of a queer short film! It might be difficult to find, but I strongly recommend that you find a way to watch this queer holiday short film.
Queer Relevance of “Xmas Eve Eve”
There are two main points that make this film relevant to the queer niche: Tom’s bisexuality and how the script deals with exes and ghosting, specifically when that ex tries to come back after ghosting you previously. While it’s not explicitly stated, we first meet Tom meeting up with a woman who ends up giving back a pair of rings before walking away leaving Tom standing by himself. He later tells Dennis that Emily let him again, for good. So we can only presume that Tom is bisexual or pansexual. While the queer oeuvre is growing, there are still parts of the LGBTQ spectrum that are lacking adequate representation including bisexuals. So the fact that Tom is likely bisexual is a major queer relevance.
As far as relationships go, there aren’t many films I can recall offhand that deal with being ghosted. And they usually are a plot device that is mentioned and moved along; rarely do we have someone ghost another but then later try to come back into that person’s life. Granted in “Xmas Eve Eve” we only get the reconciliation attempt by Tom, but it posits an interesting angle we haven’t quite seen before in queer films. And because of how the film ends, we’re actually uncertain if Tom’s attempts work – but we can hope they did!
