Channel 5 wanted to show this film and insisted on the title change to place it in the Cotswolds. Not the production team's plan, as it was filmed in Dorset by an English company, but funded and commissioned overseas (Canada, I think).
A small cast, sourced in the UK (hence a Welsh girl acting as an American and not importing an actress). Nice locations. The pub scene is very true to life, the decor of an Old English Inn at Christmas - could make people nostalgic.
Unfair to compare with big studio productions - small budget - light-hearted entertainment to fill schedules.
It is what it is. Made for off-prime time TV.
A Very English Christmas
2023
Action / Romance

A Very English Christmas
2023
Action / Romance
Plot summary
Christmas in the English countryside wasn’t on Kate’s meticulously planned festive calendar until her half-sister Amy, who was brought up in England, announces her plan to get married on Christmas Eve. Kate teams up with Amy’s co-Christmas market owner Dylan to bring order to this whirlwind wedding, but will Kate find her own love in the heart of England this Christmas?
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265Movie Reviews
Poppy Gilbert saved this debacle.
Not the Cotswolds - here's why
English? Maybe.
My first impression was that the female lead is definitely not American and is putting on an accent, which was true because she's Welsh. Would it have been hard to find a real American for the American lead? They mention she's from the States in every other line. I am American, so I can't speak to the authenticity of its Englishness, but I will say that it is filmed in England and the producer (and one of the directors) is English. Some of the reviews say that it it would bother real English people but it is actually made by English people, which is kind of funny.
The worst parts of this movie were lighting and sound mixing for me. The plot and acting weren't great but I don't expect that of Christmas movies. The lighting was always at least slightly uncanny. At times it made it seem like they were in front of a green screen, or maybe they were. The music sometimes got incredibly loud compared to the dialogue. I couldn't just turn it down because then I couldn't hear them talking.