The Christmas Ring: Film Review
By Sonali Bhargava
(Spoilers ahead)
Like every dedicated Christmas fanatic, I begin each holiday season by watching Hallmark Christmas movies earlier than deemed socially appropriate. This year, I sat down over Thanksgiving break (post-re-watching all of the Gossip Girl Thanksgiving specials, of course) to watch The Christmas Ring, a film fit to the Hallmark movie formula - with one major difference: the South Asian ethnicity of the main character.
Nazneen Contractor, the South Asian lead, plays Kendra Adams, a journalist stuck working for a meaningless platform and desperately attempting to find her deceased parent’s long-lost wedding ring. Upon her search, Adams discovers another wedding ring and pledges to write her next story as a human interest piece detailing her journey to learn about this ring’s owners. She travels to Pine Grove, an enchanting Christmas village of sorts, and forms a romantic relationship with Michael Jones, who recently went through a scandalous, public divorce and happens to be the grandson of the owners of the wedding ring Adams is investigating. Together, the pair embark on a predictable Hallmark storyline to learn about the origins of the ring and eventually realize their love for each other.
Honestly, before even watching the film I could predict both the quality and direction of the movie. I have yet to watch a Hallmark holiday movie that lacks a foreseeable ending, but in a way that is part of the appeal of the channel. The consistency and wholesome characteristics of the films grant the viewer almost guaranteed happiness, and for me, brings a sort of comfort. Knowing I can depend on Hallmark to create an unrealistic vision of the holidays always puts me in the Christmas spirit, and for that reason, I continue to watch the movies.
However, with this film, although it took on the predictable boy-meets-girl, they hate each other, and then fall in love storyline that nearly every Hallmark holiday movie follows, I enjoyed this one more. Seeing a female lead of color in a nearly all-white genre of films was refreshing and allowed me to connect with the character more, even though her personality was about as naive and hopelessly optimistic as any Hallmark studio-bred character. As someone interested in journalism, it was exciting to see a South Asian journalist on the screen as well, instead of a doctor or engineer.
Yet, the lack of South Asian elements in the movie was disappointing for a film with a lead of color. I searched the movie desperately for any acknowledgment of Contractor’s culture and came up short. There was only one scene where it was subtly recognized that the main character was played by a South Asian actress. When Adams first tells the story of how her parents lost their wedding ring when she was a child, a photo of her parents is shown. Her mother is wearing a sari in the photo, and that image was encouraging to see in the beginning of the film. As I kept watching, I grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of South Asian representation and noted not one other instance of the culture in the film.
As a group that gets little representation in Hollywood, it is hard to be satisfied with a South Asian lead when the rest of the characters are of the white majority and all the cultural and social elements of the film reflect the white side characters. Although expected with the movie centered around a Christian holiday, I still feel like there should have been more acknowledgment of Contractor’s background since the film focused on her character’s journey.
The holiday season is about being grateful for what one has and at the same time hoping for a better future with the new year. This attitude translates to my feelings about The Christmas Ring: I am choosing to take this small dabble of representation as a win, but also noting that the South Asian element of the film was lacking. The film will satisfy any Hallmark fan, although it satisfies nearly none of what a film with decent representation should include. Although I am not pleased with the lack of diversity in not only the Hallmark film genre but all film genres, I am hopeful that this movie is a step towards giving people of color the chance to live out their magical, silly holiday dreams on the big screen as well.