Starring Julie Gonzalo and Brendan Penny
***SPOILER ALERT***
Disappointed that her latest book was poorly received, Harper (Gonzalo), a big city editor, asks her boss for a leave of absence. She hopes the time off will enable her to regain her spark. For a change of pace, she’ll work for the next month at a Maine bookstore managed by Sawyer (Penny). He’s prickly when she calls the wine café inside his store gimmicky, but he starts to appreciate her after her inspired ideas increase his sales. Soon Sawyer receives a hard-to-refuse offer to buy the store. If he sells it, he could devote himself to becoming a writer. He tells Harper that he’s written a novel, and she confesses she’s a professional editor and offers to assist him with it. After a rocky start, they collaborate and she gets his book published. However, on her final day at the bookstore, he leaves for Singapore to pursue writing, leaving their relationship up in the air.
PROS
A perfect partnership, with bumps along the road. A Novel Noel was well acted by Gonzalo and Penney, who brought vulnerability and sensitivity to their characters. Harper and Sawyer were each anxious to recover something they’d lost. For Harper, it was enthusiasm for and confidence in her editing work. (As a side note, I found it refreshing that for once an editor in a Hallmark movie was depicted as loving her work and not harboring a secret yen to become a writer.) As for Sawyer, he wanted to revive his writing, and like Harper, he also needed to regain confidence. He’d given up writing long ago. Sawyer had fallen in love and been seriously pursuing writing when his father suffered a heart attack, and returning home put an end to both the love affair and his dream. He resigned himself to managing his parents’ bookstore, which wasn’t fulfilling. Both characters felt stuck in a rut, and because they were hiding aspects of themselves, it took time for them to recognize how well suited they were to helping each other achieve their goals. They began opening up to each other, a process I enjoyed watching.
Impressed by Sawyer’s first chapter, Harper encouraged him to write whenever possible. Feeling rusty, he became frustrated; he couldn’t find his flow. The biggest bump in the road came when Harper revealed her profession. He’d had a hard time even showing her his work, he said. And he feared her judgment, a not uncommon initial response to the prospect of being edited. But he accepted her guidance and improved his writing, tapping into his emotional life to create work that was richer and would resonate with readers. Pleased with his manuscript, Harper sent it to her boss for consideration.
A joyous scene. After watching White Christmas together, Harper and Sawyer exchanged gifts. She received a necklace, while his gift was a copy of the manuscript, which she announced was about to be published. He was delighted she’d brought his novel to life, while she loved that he’d helped her find joy in her work again. Both had benefited from the collaboration, and this was a terrific feel-good scene.
A poignant revelation. Grief had cast a shadow over Harper’s life. She’d needed a break partly because of the recent death of her dear friend Kimberly. Harper felt she hadn’t done enough for Kimberly, and guilt sometimes consumed her. It was Harper’s first Christmas without her. That the friend had passed away came as this film’s big surprise, for Harper would leave voice mails and texts for her and checked off activities on the Christmas bingo card Kimberly had sent her. The revelation gave the movie a touching note of sadness.
Lighter moments. The bingo card activities were fun and included eating a dozen Christmas cookies in public, wearing an elf costume to work, committing a random act of kindness, and shouting “Bah, humbug!” Harper found fun and friendship with friends of Sawyer’s, like Josie (Kaitlyn Bernard), who became her intern at the publishing house, and Sawyer’s pub buddies, Rhys (Christiaan Westerveld, sporting a jaunty English accent) and Wes (Kheon Clarke). A sweet scene had the friends gathering to declare their intentions for the new year.
CONS
Not much drama. This was an easygoing, pleasant movie and certainly not very dramatic, so it likely didn’t grab many viewers’ attention. Sawyer’s dilemma—whether or not to sell the store—wasn’t all that riveting. The crisis scene, in which Harper revealed she was an editor, did provoke Sawyer’s anger, but his emotion was underplayed; Sawyer said just a few words and promptly left. And matters were quickly resolved for the better between them when she brought him a peace offering the next day. On her last day working at the store, when Sawyer announced he’d be leaving the country, I found the emotion between them muted, consisting mostly of wistful looks and sad smiles. It wouldn’t have hurt if they’d expressed a little more feeling about their impending separation.
My grade for A Novel Noel: B
Caroline Kaiser is a professional book editor who specializes in fiction and memoirs, and she’s been guiding writers toward publication since 2007. Caroline is also the author of two ghostly mystery novels, Virginia’s Ghost and The Spirits of South Drive. Before she embarked on an editing and writing career, she spent many years working in a Toronto auction house as an antiques appraiser. Apart from curling up on the couch and drinking tea as she watches Hallmark movies, Caroline enjoys baking and exploring London, Ontario, the picturesque city she now calls home. Her website is www.carolinekaisereditor.com.
