Hallmark’s “A Nutcracker Christmas” is one of the better holiday telefilms and I definitely recommend it!
Purchase “A Nutcracker Christmas” on Amazon
TITLE: A Nutcracker Christmas
FILM YEAR: 2016
DURATION: 86 Minutes
COMPANY: Hallmark Channel
Directed by Michael Lembeck
Written by Nicole Avril
Executive Producer: Howard Braunstein, Michael G. Larkin
Produced by Steve Solomos
Music by James Jandrisch
Cinematography: Jeffrey Jur
Edited by Andy Keir, John Nicholls
Production Design by Michael Joy
Art Direction by Marilyn Kiewiet
Set Design: Shayne Fox
Costume Design by Mary Partridge-Raynor
Starring:
Amy Acker as Lily
Sascha Radetsky as Mark
Sophia Lucia as Sadie
Catherine Mary Stewart as Carol
Kenneth Welsh as Dimitri
Katherine Barrell as Beth
Siobhan Murphy as Jen
Shauna Macdonald as Sharon
Raven Dauda as Grace
Geri Hall as Karen
When her niece is cast in The Philadelphia Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker, a jaded ex-ballerina is forced to come to terms with the life and love she left behind. Stars Amy Acker, Sascha Radetsky and Sophia Lucia.
If you were going to make a film that incorporates ballet and the performance focus is about “A Nutcracker Christmas”, it’s going to be important to find people who can act and dance.
And sure enough, Hallmark’s “A Nutcracker Christmas” achieves that and is probably one of the better holiday telefilms I have watched.
The film is directed by actor/filmmaker Michael Lembeck (who directed episodes from the popular series “Friends” and the film “Tooth Fairy”) and written by Nicole Avril (who wrote for the series “Sex and the City”).
The film stars Amy Acker (“Angel”, “Alias”, “The Cabin in the Woods”, “Person of Interest”), Sascha Radetsky (“Center Stage”, “Midnight Caller”, “Flesh and Bone”), Catherine Mary Stewart (“The Last Starfighter”, “Weekend at Bernies”) and Sophia Lucia.
Before they focused on acting, Amy Acker was a former ballet dancer who had to undergo knee surgery while in high school, Sascha Radesky was a soloist of the American Ballet Theatre and Sophia Lucia is a dancer who is the current Guinness World Record holder for doing 55 consecutive Pirouettes.
So, you have three talented people who can act and dance, but also, it’s a role which hits closer to home for Amy Acker as a person who wanted to become a ballet dancer, but had to give up what she loved due to an injury. In this case, her character also gave up ballet dancing.
Which is a perfect segue for “A Nutcracker Christmas”.
The telefilm is about Lily who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. Naturally gifted, the challenge for her was growing up with a very strict mother. But always there to change her mother’s mind (when her mother forbid her to focus on ballet dancing and leave home) was Lily’s oldest sister Beth (portrayed by Katherine Barrell). And an older sister who was always there for her.
As Lily won the 2003 American Ballet Invitational and had the chance to perform with the New York City Ballet, she meets fellow ballet dancer Mark (portrayed by Sascha Radetsky) and both have a role in “The Nutcracker”, as Mark would be the Nutcracker Prince and Lily, the Sugar Plum Fairy.
But before her debut, she received a call from her mother that Beth was killed in a car accident and her daughter Sadie survived. Distraught and wanting to perform for her sister’s memory, the director asked Mark if she is fit to perform, but Mark knew that she was not in the mental state to perform and loses her position and her dream of performing the Sugar Plum Fairy. Upset with Mark for making that decision for her, even though Mark knew in his heart, that decision was correct.
Lily returned back to Georgia and becomes the surrogate mother to her niece, Sadie. And years have now passed.
Lily is no longer a dancer, she is a yoga instructor and pretty much has cut herself off from people she knew, including Mark.
But Sadie is a talented young ballerina and is offered a chance to perform with the Philadelphia Ballet, for the main character role of Clara Stahlbaum.
Lily doesn’t want Sadie to go but her mother, reminded her what Lily did for her and thus convincing Lily to give Clara the permission.
So, the two head to Philadelphia to pursue Sadie’s ballet career, but to the shock of Lily, the ballet company owns the apartment building they will be staying at. And the biggest shocker, the director of “The Nutcracker” for the Philadelphia Ballet, is her ex-boyfriend, Mark.
And I won’t spoil the rest of this film, but I will say that this film is among the top tier holiday telefilms I have watched. Production quality is good and it looks like there was a pretty solid budget going into this telefilm. For one it’s not necessarily banal. Predictable, but definitely not banal and to see these three talented individuals act and dance was great.
But also I was rooting for actress Amy Acker, who I have enjoyed on the TV series “Angel” but seeing her get to do ballet again, for a film. I could imagine how special that was for her to be in a role such as this, considering her ballet career ended in high school, but now getting a chance to do ballet for a film. That’s pretty cool!
Once again, Hallmark’s “A Nutcracker Christmas” is one of the better holiday telefilms and I definitely recommend it!
Purchase “A Nutcracker Christmas” on Amazon
