Anna Condo's sarcastically titled "Merry Christmas" shows what happens when a group of upper-crust New Yorkers travel to the wilds of Pennsylvania to spend their Christmas holidays playing a murder mystery game at a remote bed and breakfast. The film spends no time on exposition, and so we have no idea who any of these people are in relation to one another before they put on outrageous Studio 54–type outfits to immerse themselves in the disco dance club- themed murder mystery. The game is run by the B&B owner Kay, who questions each "witness," and keeps the game from derailing over the course of the weekend.
Meanwhile, the guests booze it up, play the piano, bicker constantly, and simmer tepidly with vague resentment and ennui. Through the playing of the game, the real life characters' true personalities emerge, and we can see that this is a pretty heartless bunch.
All of that would be fine (and even brilliant, perhaps) in the hands of, say, Luis Bunuel, but the overall effect in "Merry Christmas" is unfocused and lazy. The film feels like an acting game running its course, with various conflicts introduced throughout in a haphazard and contrived manner. The problem is that the stakes are low to the point of non-existence, and there's just no excuse for that.
Todo lo anterior podría estar bien (incluso, quizás, brillante) en manos de, por ejemplo Buñuel, pero el efecto en conjunto en “Feliz Navidad” es vago y está desenfocado. La película parece como un juego de actuaciones siguiendo su curso, con varios conflictos introducidos a lo largo de la historia de una manera casual y artificial. El problema es que la apuesta es tan baja que no existe, y no hay escusas para eso.
Todo esto estaría bien (quizás hasta brillante) en las manos de, digamos, Luis Buñuel, pero el efecto conjunto en "Merry Christmas" es flojo y desconcentrado. El filme se siente como un juego de actuación corriendo su curso, con varios conflictos introducidos de manera azarosa y artificial. El problema es que la apuesta es diminuta hasta la inexistencia, y no hay excusa para eso.