It’s time for one of those really dramatic Christmas titles. This time around I can safely say that the romance is super weak though to the point of taking a star away. It just doesn’t make sense and it takes so long for the two leads to really get to the same page that the credits start rolling as they make up. Ehhhhh it’s one of those cases where they should have stayed as friends.

The movie introduces us to Terry who had a rough time growing up since his father was super busy and never really had a lot of time for him. Terry had a lot of resentment about this and swore not to make the same mistake when he grew up. That’s not quite how it went though as he is now working in a big company without much downtime and hasn’t even met a girl yet. Well, he is called down to his old home to shut the place down since his father died but his dad had already promised the place to a lady named Katherine who was renting out the place to show her daughter Olivia.

It might be tough going back down memory lane but Terry is ready for this. Then he finds out that Katherine is actually the little girl who visited the place a long time ago when her father struck someone with a car who died and then he wandered off into the forest and died shortly afterwards. The whole thing was so long ago and tragic that she just doesn’t remember and when Terry finds out that her father is still alive, he forbids Terry from mentioning this. Terry is keeping a whole lot of secrets now and then he falls for Katherine. Can he keep up this relationship in the midst of all these secrets?

The obvious answer here should be no. Also, since he is renting out the house I would imagine that having a relationship with a client is a really bad idea. Not really something you should be doing if you have a clear head on your shoulders. Katherine gets really upset at him later on for this and it’s for really good reason. I don’t see how you could keep on going after this because it’s such a big deal. The fact that she was here before isn’t as big a deal to be honest but the dead father thing is massive.

I get why it would be hard to show up out of nowhere after so long but the Dad should have appeared and if not, Terry should have still mentioned this. If he wasn’t interested in Katherine romantically then sure he could have decided not to say anything but I would say that by this point it was definitely his obligation. It’s just too serious and personal not to say anything. Then the fact that Terry was about to dash off and everything until at the last second turning around…not his best moment.

As for Katherine, I thought she was okay but also moving too fast on everything. I feel like I would definitely cancel my appointment at the hut if the guy in charge died. I don’t know the new owner enough to trust him so why take the risk? That would be a full refund and I’d just check out another spot. She also got really emotional by the end and I get that the betrayal was rough but it still felt like she could have handled things a little better.

The hospital subplot about the father leaving gifts every year to try and make things better was nice though. There was a common element here about the father of both main characters caring a lot but having a hard time showing it. For Terry it was too late since he died but at least for Katherine she will be able to mend the relationship now and get the family going again. So definitely a happier ending there but again it could have worked better without the romance here.

I gotta give the film credit for trying to give us a true life or death moment in the film though. At one point Terry has to go into the water in order to rescue the boat and we get the serious music as the water rages on. Katherine’s daughter Olivia is blind so she has to try and keep her daughter safe while saving Terry and getting the boat going. It was maybe trying a bit too hard on the film’s part to really get the blood pumping and all but it was a scene I wasn’t really expecting so I give it some credit for that.

Even the whole “Father faking his death” angle was a pretty solid mystery on the film’s part. You may figure it out by the time of the reveal but maybe not, I thought the movie showed good restraint in keeping it from being too obvious. Naturally I will say that faking your death is almost never a good idea and this is another example of that. It may be really hard to show yourself but you’ve really got to take that leap and just get it over with. Once you have a family, it’s selfish to just ditch them like that. Feel free to fake your own death if you’re on your own but otherwise it’s definitely a no go.

Overall, Fallen Angel is a good movie but it needed a little something more to the plot to really make it memorable. Maybe more supporting characters or something back with Terry’s plot like the company calling for him back. That could have added some drama on him being in a rush to get back. The film isn’t super long or anything but even then it felt like there wasn’t a whole lot of story for the film to get through. It’s a good title but doesn’t hold up with most of the other Christmas titles. Check it out if you want some solid drama though.

Overall 6/10