**This article contains spoilers for the movie “The Noel Diary”.
Considered “relatable and realistic” but also “rushed and uncharismatic,” “The Noel Diary” (2022) is the latest holiday movie on Netflix. It follows Jake Turner, played by Justin Hartley, and Barrett Doss’ character Rachel Campbell. “The Noel Diary” follows their growing relationship that centers around a diary that holds secrets of the past.
Turner is a successful writer who returns to his childhood home after his mother passes away. While sorting through her things, he finds a diary, and he keeps it. It is later discovered that this diary belongs to Turner’s previous nanny, Noel Ellis.
Ellis was pregnant while working for the Turner family, and put her daughter into adoptive care. Her daughter’s name was Rachel. Rachel returns to the Turner house just as Jake Turner returns also. Rachel is looking for her mother, Noel Ellis, and that is when she meets Turner. The two embark on a journey to find Rachel’s mother, Noel Ellis.
Through this journey together, Turner reconnects with his father who left him when he was a child, after Turner’s younger brother passed away. Turner also begins to fall in love with Rachel, who only wants to have certainty in her life, and is unsure of their relationship.
While the story unfolds, the movie is brought to life through a Hallmark-like holiday plot filled with love, Christmas and conflict. However, this holiday movie is unlike any other.
While many romance Hallmark movies are lighthearted, cheesy and romanticize the holidays, “The Noel Diary” does the opposite. It represents how uncertain life may be, and that people must have strength to make a choice. The movie shows that Christmas is a time of year many people struggle with; some have lost family members, disconnected with their families or experienced traumatic events around the holidays.
Khushi Mehta is a senior from PV who enjoys watching movies. “ When I read the description for ‘The Noel Diary’ I was really intrigued,” stated Mehta. “Its plot was unlike any other holiday movie I had heard of. It seemed very authentic and genuine.” Mehta’s opinion was quite true.
Turner is forced to deal with his hoarder-mother’s recent death, younger brother’s death that occurred around Christmas and fathers abandoning him. Meanwhile, Rachel faces her fear of rejection of her birth mother and the uncertainty of her recent marriage. The imperfections of their lives show the reality most people live in, and makes the story all too relatable.
However, while the conflicts kept the plot moving well, there were far too many of them. Often, one conflict rose right after another, creating a confusing thread of events. The stylistic choices and dialogue made the story feel rushed, causing a difficulty in following.
This was not the only issue.
While the film portrayed reality well, it unfortunately romanticized infidelity and cheating through the relationship of Turner and Rachel. Rachel was engaged, and in multiple scenes she talked to her fiance or discussed why she loved him. There was uncertainty about the future of their relationship, but it was still ongoing when she met Turner.
Rachel cheated on her fiance with Turner, and in the worst way possible. She lied to her fiance to cover the fact that she went on a roadtrip with Turner alone and stayed in a hotel room with him. In the hotel she initiates a kiss, and as things advance, they end up sleeping together. The music and cinematography created a romantic atmosphere to make it seem like two people falling in love, though one was already engaged.
Though Rachel sends unsure messages to Turner, he falls in love with her. Rachel proceeded to reject him, then showed up to his doorstep later. The events following the infidelity are confusing and rushed. The audience doesn’t know how many days have passed or if Rachel broke her engagement off with her fiance; it is up to viewer’s discretion.
Another movie-fanatic is junior Muskan Mehta who watched part of the “The Noel Diary”. “It was okay, but a little hard to understand,” Mehta explained. “The plot had so much going on, from conflicts with family and love affairs to the pacing of the movie itself. I didn’t finish the film.” Mehta’s opinion was agreed upon by critics on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites.
“The Noel Diary” had well-developed and easy to understand characters, but the plot lacked substance, sincerity and clarity. No movie should leave the viewer second guessing if the characters end up together or not after an hour and 39 minutes of watching, especially after cheating and taking a trip together.
The film is no classic nor does it compare to the classic Hallmark movie, but it is worth a watch if you are looking for a unique Holiday movie, one that will keep you talking for days afterward.
