Boxing Day review

Another Tolstoy update from Bernard Rose

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Bernard Rose follows Ivansxtc and The Kreutzer Sonata with another lo-fi Tolstoy update, based on the short story Master And Man and again starring Danny Huston as a noxious blowhard in dire straits.

Here, however, he has a reluctant companion in the form of Nick (Matthew Jacobs), a local chauffeur who shuttles him to foreclosed properties in wintry Colorado that he hopes to make a hefty profit on.

Their prickly banter prompts some mild humour before an abrupt detour steers the film into redemptive tragedy and self-sacrifice.

Yet bleak as it is, its rigour proves darkly compelling

Freelance Writer

Neil Smith is a freelance film critic who has written for several publications, including Total Film. His bylines can be found at the BBC, Film 4 Independent, Uncut Magazine, SFX, Heat Magazine, Popcorn, and more.