The Fitzgerald Family Christmas ~ Art Cinema
Drama
English / NR / 99 min.
THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS
An Edward Burns Film
In this 2012 release, Burns returns to the working-class, Irish-American roots of THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN. Reuniting with McMullen co-stars Connie Britton ("Friday Night Lights", "Nashville"), and Michael McGlone, along with Noah Emmerich (LITTLE CHILDREN, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS), Kerry Bishé (ARGO, RED STATE) and Caitlin Fitzgerald (DAMSELS IN DISTRESS, NEWLYWEDS) Burns seamlessly weaves an ensemble story of adult siblings dealing with the desire of their estranged father (Ed Lauter, THE ARTIST, THE LONGEST YARD) to return home for Christmas for the first time since he walked out on his family 20 years ago. Family rifts emerge, and like with any family, Christmas brings a mixed bag of complicated emotions and dynamics. Alliances form, old wounds are reopened or glossed over, and the possibility for a new hope and forgiveness emerges.
"an unpretentiously ingratiating dramedy about members of an Irish-American clan drawn together, whether they want to be or not, for a yuletide celebration." -Variety
ABOUT THE FILM
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT – Edward Burns
After taking my last two films, NICE GUY JOHNNY and NEWLYWEDS, on the festival circuit, I kept hearing from fans that they were hungry for another look into the Irish Catholic/working class milieu that I had explored in my first two films, THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN and SHE'S THE ONE.
Given that it has been over 15 years since those first two films, I was eager to dive in, so I sat down and wrote my most personal film to date, which turned into, THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS. I took a look at my extended family and my close friends and our experiences growing up in large, tight-knit, Irish-American families. I explored how seven siblings, all having grown up under the same roof, could have such different memories, points of view, and opinions about their experiences in the house. And now as adults, they are forced to come to terms with the damage that was caused when their father walked out on the family 20 years earlier and their mother was forced to raise them alone.
And while these themes connected to audiences in my first films with success, I focused on a deeper and more dramatic tone for FITZGERALDS. I thought Christmas would be the perfect time to set the film, when families come together, old wounds are either glossed over or exposed, and hopefully forgiveness and a new hope can emerge. And like many Christmas films, the movie aims to resonate with audiences who want to look at their families with a fresh sense of appreciation, in spite of past challenges. And speaking of family, I thought it was important for me to bring back some of the cast from those early films, whom I consider my filmmaking family, including Connie Britton, Mike McGlone, Anita Gillette and Malachy McCourt. I have added some new siblings into the mix as well, rounding out the cast with actors who have appeared in my most recent films, like Kerry Bishé, Caitlin FitzGerald, Marsha Dietlein Bennett, Nick Sandow, Kevin Kash, John Solo, Daniella Pineda, Michele Harris and Heather Burns.
