Got the post-Christmas blues? Here’s four festive films you can watch at any time of year
Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Hope Holiday in The Apartment
Wishing the festive season had never ended? Too embarrassed to watch Elf in January? Here’s the solution – Christmas Adjacent films. They're set at Christmas, but Christmas isn’t the main gimmick. You can watch them at any time of year, and here are some of the best:
The Apartment
The Apartment is a 1960 movie directed by Billy Wilder set around the festive season. It follows C.C. Baxter, who works as a clerk for an insurance company. As Baxter lives alone, he lends out his apartment to company executives so they can have affairs. Things get complicated though when he gets into a romance of his own. This film went on to win multiple awards at the 1961 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Die Hard
Die Hard. A film that is often the topic of discussions surrounding whether it’s a Christmas film or not. I say, it’s a Christmas adjacent film! John McClane, an NYPD officer, is spending Christmas with his wife attending her office Christmas party. The building is then taken over by terrorists led by Hans Gruber. McClane must sneak around Nakatomi Plaza, taking down terrorists to save his wife and the other hostages. A classic of many festive households and helped spark Bruce Willis’s action career. This is one of the best Christmas Adjacent films.
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut, the final film of the great Stanley Kubrick, and widely considered a Christmas adjacent film. The story follows Bill Harford, a New York City doctor who, after his wife admits to having fantasised about being with another man, becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter of his own. He then discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings, only to realise he’s in over his head. Both Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman give top-notch performances, and Sydney Pollack takes a break from directing to give a brief but memorable performance. With one of the most haunting scenes in all of film history, this is a classic Christmas adjacent film.
In Bruges
The wickedly funny black comedy, In Bruges, is one of the best Christmas adjacent films. Directed by the talented Martin McDonagh, In Bruges is a definite unofficial Christmas film. Set during the festive season and littered with biblical imagery, it follows Ray and Ken, two hit men who are in Bruges awaiting orders from their boss. In Bruges has some of the most hilarious scenes you’ll ever watch and comes from one of the smartest writers currently working.