There are reasons that people want Tyler Hynes and Erin Krakow in movies together. After only one – It Was Always You – fans knew that the two on screen was something special. Chemistry isn’t found with every leading man and woman, but with these two there it is found and defined, even though that definition is forever evolving. There is a visible and believable connection between the two. Their acting skill, the portrayal of their characters, and the angst between the two defines their on screen chemistry.
People have waited years for the two to find a project that the two believed would be as impactful to their fans. It’s always been obvious that the two pick projects carefully and what their reasoning is – well, that’s not for me to analyze. Their projects have always had meaning and what that meaning is – well, that’s personal to them and different for each viewer. The two choosing to do Christmas Above The Clouds will mean something different to each one of us. For me their reunification on screen was worth the wait.
A Christmas Carol is one of those timeless stories. We all know who Ebenezer Scrooge is – a man whose heart was cold to everyone and everything. Visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, Scrooge’s life changes and that changes the life of people around him. Being a Christmas scrooge myself, I have always disliked retellings of the story, as I have disliked the original. Personal reasons and the obvious one of feeling called out for being a scrooge – well that’s never fun.
Christmas Above The Clouds though – well it was a figurative slap in the face of the best kind. Not that I ever like being slapped, but it was a movie that reminded me of the joy of love, life, and relationships. It was a movie that showed me that work/life balance is important. But most of all it showed me that living is something beautiful and just existing is a response of fear.
I am one that lands on the dislike side of Christmas (but love Christmas movies), but will consider myself lucky that the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future haven’t visited me. Instead, I have done a good job avoiding Christmas in real life and just embracing Christmas in the movies. So sitting down and turning on Christmas Above The Clouds made me feel a lot of feelings.
At this point, I’ve watched the movie twice and thought a lot about a lot of things. 37 minutes in, I was crying my eyes out and wondering about why it was that I have made the choices that I have made and how I closed off my heart to Christmas.
I know, I know – Christmas Above The Clouds is a movie and it’s not supposed to be that deep. But isn’t it? I do think that any movie that modernizes A Christmas Carol is deep. It’s a reminder to look at life and see the beauty, spirit and soul of life and see that sometimes, taking a look inside and really think about finding a balance. Life outside of work matters.
Love matters.
And so does Christmas.
ALWAYS IN SEAT 2B
We all have a past, present and future. The good ol’ days are what we are living right now. Ella (Krakow) has denied her employees feeling the joy of Christmas by making their lives around the office horrendous. Middle of winter? Office at 55 degrees. She doesn’t like the project that they are working on? Work on Christmas. Her assistant wants to say goodbye to her son before having to fly on Christmas? Get my stuff done first.
Ellas mentor taught her that work comes first. It always comes above everything else. Relationships aren’t important.
But for Ella there was one relationship that was extremely important – one that she made the biggest mistake of her life with. She put her work before the man that she loved and a life that she was meant to live. She thought about nothing but work.
Running into her ex – Jake (Hynes) isn’t something that she expected, but it was probably for the best. Everything happens for a reason and though we may not always know the reason, it’s still there.
The past is a funny thing. You can try to outrun it, you can try to change it, and even believe that it was something different than what you know – but it’s always there. It’s there to remind you of the lessons learned, the mistakes made, the successes won and sometimes it’s there to be alive even in the moments that you thought were dead.
The two are on the same flight to Australia. Ella’s in her first class seat while putting her assistant in coach (which for a 20 hour flight is cruel). When she returns from making her assistant give up her neck pillow and charger, she finds that Jake is seated right across the aisle from her.
SAFETY VIDEOS, TURBULENCE, & MATH
Safety videos, turbulence, and math – three things that make me want to check out. But here I am, watching this movie and somehow I find myself thinking even those can be funny.
We get to see the difference between Jake and Ella quite quickly. Ella is annoyed about the very existence of people and them possibly infringing upon her space. Jake was patient – especially with children. She’s worried that the child in front of her will ask her questions for the 20 hours and he’s solving it by writing down math problems for the child who is obsessed with math.
Ella’s afraid of flying and reaches out to grab Jakes arm to steady her. He doesn’t move, doesn’t shrink back, but instead offers her comfort by letting her do what makes her feels safe.
I believe that in moments of feeling safe we start to open ourselves to our thoughts. We open ourselves to what was and what is and however it manifests is unique to us. For Ella, she’s being able visited in the safety video by her old mentor. One whose eternity is now to be in airline safety videos, chained down by seat belts. Ella’s being told that she will be visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.
Now, I would think – if this was happening to me – that I obviously took something that was laced. Ella, she doesn’t. She takes it in stride, but she doesn’t really have much time before she has visitors.
CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE
Unfortunately for myself, I do believe in ghosts. Do I want to be visited? No. But did I enjoy watching Ella be visited by them? Absolutely.
Krakow manages to make me love, dislike, and feel bad for her character of Ella. Watching her past, present and future unfold in front of her eyes was both heartbreaking and also a moment for us all to think about what is important. Genuine connection is something that we all need and every time that Ella has had that – she’s run from it. Her advancement in the workplace has been what matters.
But watching Ella’s life and the way that she fell in love with Jake, the things that she’s missed out on, the way that he loved her and she isolated herself from him. He was begging for her attention and she was telling him that he just needed to understand.
Seeing the two be back in college and how they met – I have to admit I couldn’t concentrate. I loved seeing the two as college students, so much that I was laughing and also just enjoying them living in the moment. It was just cute. But it was seeing them years later when she was so cold and they broke up – I cried.
BUT I CRIED MORE AT THIS
Ella’s assistant is back in coach and she’s missing her son. She’s missing her family and yet, she’s not complaining. Through the ghosts we see a look at her assistants life – one where her family is helping her and taking care of him so that she can do her job, but it dawns on Ella she’s never asked.
She sees the way that her choices make her employees lives miserable. Ellas response is why didn’t they say something, but the reality is they have. They’ve tried. She’s never listened. She’s just heard them.
There is a difference between the two.
Tim is sick and Ella’s assistant knows that her job give her the health insurance and money to take care of him. But not much else. It’s Christmas future that she sees that if something doesn’t change Tim won’t be around next year.
A reminder that we can have a lot going on, but our emergency is not someone elses. Ella has been about herself and now she’s seeing that she needs to be about others too – because those around her are going through something too.
It was seeing her learn this and really understand it that made me think – she’s changing. She’s growing. She thinks that she’s showing that, but she hasn’t been doing just that. What she’s been doing is alienating them and giving them reason to call her Krampus.
But when Ella realizes that she’s not been the kindest and the most giving soul and wants to change it – that is when I started crying (yet again) because we all need to see how who we are affects others and how the act of listening and hearing what people are saying is important.
FAMILY
The flight has to land in Utah and the passengers are being rescheduled for the next day. Ella has learned something from the ghosts and decides that she needs to change. She gives her assistant and fat raise and sends her back home on a first class flight.
One of the most beautiful moments in any movie is the moment that you see the character realize their worth. Ella has started to realize how special that she is and that there is this big beautiful world out there – one that exists outside of the office.
And if there is the world telling her, it’s – it’s that she needs to live outside the office. When the flight lands in Utah she invites Jake to breakfast where the reconnection between the two is there. I do see the two realizing that they’ve never fallen out of love, and if you’re like me – you’re probably thinking about all of the relationships that have ended and wondering if you’ve made the right choices when ending them.
Utah is also the place where her family lives and it is as if fate is telling her that she needs to go home for the holidays.
I STILL…
I have to admit that I was a crying mess by the end. I was crying when the two had breakfast and the two arrived at her sisters. I cried as he admitted that he still loved her. I cried with montages and little looks.
There is just so much that any retelling of A Christmas Carol can do, but this one hit different. Maybe it’s because it’s actors I like or maybe it’s because I have flown before to avoid Christmas.
Maybe all of us don’t need to be revisited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Instead maybe what we need is a movie that we see ourselves in and a moment where we allow ourselves to know – we’re okay the way we are.
We are enough.
And someone out there is going to love us for who we are – all flaws, insecurities, and perfections included.
Just believe.
