Boxing Day

Time and technology have moved on since Bernard Rose made Ivansxtc, the first of his loose, contemporary adaptations of Tolstoy stories starring Danny Huston. In 2000, that film's barebones production values and digital images seemed like a daring lo-fi experiment; now, in Boxing Day, his third installment in the series, these characteristics are scarcely worthy of comment.

Nonetheless, the film is a delight. Huston plays Basil, a property developer whose smooth confidence conceals a hollow, morally-compromised core. On a desperate business trip to the wintry mid-West he hires the morose Nick (Matthew Jacobs) as his driver and, over a long day in the car, the two form a study in contrasts. Jacobs, better known as a screenwriter, more than holds his own against the excellent Huston.

Free of the trappings of a period production, Rose introduces contemporary themes whilst also homing in on the big, existential questions raised by Tolstoy. Remember to turn the heating up, though. This film will make you feel cold. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]