Starring Kim Matula and Beau Mirchoff
***SPOILER ALERT***
Anya (Matula), accompanied by her best friend, Elyse (Nichole Sakura), is preparing for the Joulurauha sled dog race in Finland. Her archrival is Monty (Páll Sigbór Pálsson), who beat her father in the three-day, three-hundred-mile race years earlier, but she’s determined to win. At a welcome party for the participants, Anya meets Cole (Mirchoff), a former racer. He’s now a journalist, making him untrustworthy in her opinion. He begins digging for information for an article, but seeing her irritation, he backs off. After running in the qualifying race, Anya learns from her cousin Lavi (Benedikt Gröndahl), a veterinarian, that her lead dog, Cupid, is injured, and she considers withdrawing. However, Cole offers her his dog as the lead, which allows her to continue. She finally begins trusting him and they bond, but she recognizes that they’re very different and doubts that a romance between them could ever succeed.
PROS
While The Finnish Line was perhaps more of an adventure story than a romance, that in no way diminished it. It featured a charming, breezy script and excellent performances across the board.
Kim Matula as Anya. I can’t say enough about how much I loved Matula’s performance. Anya was multi-faceted, and the actress showed a lot of range, playing the character in a nuanced way that gave her emotional depth. Anya was forthright and gutsy. She wasn’t intimidated by either the throngs of reporters, including Cole, who descended on the scene, or by Monty, the sharp-tongued villain who took every opportunity to intimidate and needle her. She more than matched him in her desire to win. And with her quick wit, she returned his sarcasm—for example, thanking him for being so reliably obnoxious, since she wasn’t good with unknowns. However, beneath Anya’s feistiness was vulnerability and a degree of pessimism. She was ready to give up almost as soon as Cupid was injured but was buoyed up by Elyse, her biggest cheerleader, who said they’d compete if she had to strap herself to the sled. Anya had also been lonely since the death of her parents and lamented her lack of family, even though Lavi introduced her to a gaggle of friendly, warm-hearted relatives. And Monty did get under her skin eventually, which made her doubt who she was if she failed to win. After all, her very identity was wrapped up in the Joulurauha race. In a tense scene soon after, she lashed out at Cole, Elyse, and Lavi, claiming that if she lost, she’d only be a loser without family, whereas they could all go back to their previous lives.
Anya and Cole’s romance. The two spent a frustrating day attempting to prod Cole’s dog and the other huskies to run, then began bonding during an ice-cold dip and a sauna. And partly because Lavi approved of Cole, she decided she liked him too. She was intrigued to learn he was writing about losing big before finally winning and was eager to read his book proposal. Their relationship had playful moments, like when Anya’s young cousin expressed a desire to race; because she lacked sled dogs, they pulled her instead and collapsed to the ground in laughter. They also took a reindeer ride together, Anya’s “revenge” on him because he’d joked he was afraid of reindeer.
They shared tender moments as well. At Cole’s urging, Anya tearfully explained what winning the race meant to her. There was more to it than beating Monty in order to uphold her family’s honor; being in Finland made her feel she was spending Christmas with her adored parents, who’d always loved the holidays. They kissed while Elyse and Lavi peeked through the window. This scene was beautifully acted by the leads. If Mirchoff seemed slightly overshadowed by Matula in this and other scenes, it was only because his character was more relaxed and passive than hers. The actor was perfect for the role.
A quirky secondary romance. Lavi was eccentric and was played with humor and gusto by Gröndahl. On the one hand, Lavi was exuberant, and on the other, bashful. Elyse, portrayed with bracing directness by Sakura, asked him out, but he babbled nervously, claiming he didn’t like her and trying to explain why he was refusing. He was a vet, he said, and Anya’s cousin. The lame excuses didn’t make sense, and the scene was hilarious. Lavi fretted that he’d made Elyse sad and later apologized. He’d hid his feelings when he said he didn’t like her, as he’d felt he was unworthy of her. Watching their romance unfold was a delight.
Thrills amid the chill. The movie was filmed in Finland and Iceland and featured stunning wintry scenery, the backdrop for the Joulurauha race. And the race itself, accompanied by intense, thunderous music, was filled with heart-pounding excitement. In the qualifier, Monty made a dangerous move: he didn’t yield when Anya tried to pass him. And during the last leg of the race, Monty got hurt and Anya came to his aid, carrying him on her sled. Reaching a steep cliff, her sled started sliding over the edge, and suddenly she found herself dangling from a cliff. Rarely do I say that a Hallmark movie is thrilling, but this one was!
CONS
None.
My grade for The Finnish Line: A (one of this season’s best)
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.
