For young George Parry, moving to the country to be with grandparents Jason Roberts and Eva Marie Saint is the lesson he needs to truly learn about life: the hardships, the joys, the love. Mother Joanne Woodward (briefly seen) sends him there when she can no longer afford to support him, and at first, things are awkward with the family he's never known. Robards isn't prepared for the memories of raising a son (his beloved son died in the war), so their initial encounters are strained, especially when Robards gets drunk and orders him out. But the ties of family and the eloquent patience of grandma Eva Marie Saint helps bring them closer. As told through the older Parry's character, the Christmas gift is given to all when Robards decides he wants to bring God back into his life.
The atmosphere is hard and gritty, with the fury of the wintertime's Mother Nature nipping at everybody's heels. Saint, looking quite youthful in spite of being a grandmother here, is a quiet flower of strength, loving and understanding, but not without her own commanding way of turning everything around. She is the ultimate Earth Mother and definitely has a lot to deal with being married to the very gruff Robards.
This isn't exactly a strong story, more a series of events and a boy's memory that he is confronted years later when he is a man, but it definitely has a beginning, middle and ending which shows that plots don't have to be a bruh play in your face. Perry's wide-eyed performance shows a boy reluctant but eager ultimately to learn, and the GIF he games are practically overshadowed by the gifts he gives to the grandparents who would have been much less blessed without him.
The atmosphere is hard and gritty, with the fury of the wintertime's Mother Nature nipping at everybody's heels. Saint, looking quite youthful in spite of being a grandmother here, is a quiet flower of strength, loving and understanding, but not without her own commanding way of turning everything around. She is the ultimate Earth Mother and definitely has a lot to deal with being married to the very gruff Robards.
This isn't exactly a strong story, more a series of events and a boy's memory that he is confronted years later when he is a man, but it definitely has a beginning, middle and ending which shows that plots don't have to be a bruh play in your face. Perry's wide-eyed performance shows a boy reluctant but eager ultimately to learn, and the GIF he games are practically overshadowed by the gifts he gives to the grandparents who would have been much less blessed without him.