Review: Lost At Christmas – ‘Authentically Scottish’

Lost at Christmas is an authentically Scottish Christmas film starring Natalie Clark as Jen and Kenny Boyle as Rob. Everything there is to love about Christmas is featured in this heart wrenching romantic comedy which will get you reaching for the tissues. It’s set in the remote Scottish town of Fort William on Christmas eve, both Jen and Rob feature major heartbreak from cheating to a rejected wedding proposal. All is not well for the pair, and things only get worse when they realise the last train to Glasgow is no longer running, the snow is blocking the roads and all they want to do is get home to their family. Jen and Rob are each other’s last hope at saving Christmas as they team up to travel back home. All cannot go so easy; we follow their journey through saving Christmas and maybe love (?).

Natalie Clark seemed to be the film’s beating heart as she nailed every joke and was a completely realistic albeit crazy character. In the first 5 minutes, we see her punch a cheater in the face and scream that all men are “illegitimate children” – she truthfully carried the film. Meanwhile, Kenny Boyle seemed to miss the mark on some jokes which made a few scenes of the movie relatively awkward, especially considering the strong performance from Clark.

The best part of the entirety of the film sees Jen go back to her cheating ex’s house and steal his luxurious car in hopes to travel back to Glasgow. This scene is rather outstanding and only gets better the minute Rob realises Jen has just stolen a car. When Rob accused Jen of stealing she said “Stolen? Such an ugly word”, it was laugh out loud genius and Clark’s delivery was absolutely fantastic. Though car theft isn’t expected in your traditional Christmas film, it did add a little bit of character to Scotland’s first traditional Christmas movie outing.

Lost At Christmas is a cute romantic comedy, however its so much more than just romantic love, but love about unifying strangers. We see this when Jen and Rob are forced to spend Christmas at a remote inn, full of guests who are not in the Christmas spirit. However, that doesn’t stop Jen from trying to make this a fantastic Christmas as we see other minor stories pan out and how love can be centred around friendship and not just romance.

There was a lot to unpack in the final scene as it took a dark turn. It’s a realistic ending to a completely ludicrous story, which made my heart break a little. As a romantic comedy fanatic, I prefer a more traditional ending, but Lost At Christmas didn’t want to be your stereotypical rom com. In a rather comforting manner,  Rob and Jen are two strangers who spend Christmas together and as we’re living in these strange times, a little sprinkle of togetherness provides some much needed relief.

Lost At Christmas, directed by Ryan Hendrick, is distributed in the UK via Strike Media, certificate 12A. It will be available to watch in cinemas from 4^th December and digital release on 7^th December.