NOELLE
An engaging Christmas drama that presents the Gospel clearly.
Should You Watch It?
NOELLE is an engaging Christmas movie with a clear Gospel message. It presents the need for forgiveness, shows the love of Jesus, and makes room for miracles. The acting is superior, the music is excellent, and several moments are heart-rending.
The movie also asks viewers to accept priests with deep flaws, including one who gets into a fight and both priests questioning their calling. Traditional Catholics may struggle with the film’s ecclesiology, while non-Catholic Christians may have questions about its images and discussion of Mary. The story slows in a couple of places, though the ending is poignant.
If your family can discuss those concerns with discernment, NOELLE is worth watching, especially during the Christmas season.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESFather Jonathan Keene travels to a small town on Cape Cod with an ecclesiastical mission: confront Father Simeon and close the dying Sacred Heart Chapel. Jonathan proposes a living Nativity to revive the church and suggests Marjorie, a young woman he meets after she drops her glove, play Mary.
As Christmas approaches, the priests, Marjorie, and the people around them must face hidden burdens and the possibility that the church—and its people—may need more than a program to be restored.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means NOELLE is a good, engaging film with meaningful strengths and noticeable flaws. David Wall directs the movie well, and the acting is superior. The music is excellent, while the heart-rending moments and poignant ending give the story emotional weight.
The main weakness is pacing. The story is slow in a couple of places, and the ecclesiastical and theological flaws weaken the overall effect. A little script doctoring could have made the movie more acceptable to a wider range of church viewers.
The Worldview
NOELLE presents a strong general Christian worldview within a Catholic setting. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is discussed clearly, and the film presents the need for forgiveness and the love of Jesus. Miracles also have a positive place in the story.
At the same time, the priests have deep flaws. They question their calling, and Father Jonathan gets into a fight. The film’s treatment of priests may concern traditional Catholics because it ignores the special sanctity of ordination espoused by the Catholic Church. Non-Catholic Christians may also have questions about its images of Mary and its discussion of her. The story might have worked better in a Lutheran or Episcopal church, according to the source review.
Still, the film’s central message points toward the Christian promise of Christmas: God’s love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong general Christian worldview set in a Catholic church with Catholic priests who question their calling, a fact that may concern some Catholics, and a brief but positive discussion of the Virgin Mary; two light obscenities and three light profanities; man on motorscooter falls several times on icy roads, priest beats up a man who got a woman pregnant, woman bleeds from pregnancy, and discussion of abortion; discussion of abortion, discussion of affair, discussion of unwed pregnancy, and some minor kissing; no nudity; drinking excessively by two different priests; no smoking; and, townspeople would rather go to Christmas Party rather than put on Nativity pageant and wealthy man engaged to one woman sleeps with another woman.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film presents the need for forgiveness. Why is forgiveness difficult, and what does Jesus teach about receiving and extending it?
Matthew 6:14–15 · Ephesians 4:32The priests question their calling. How can Christians seek wisdom when they are uncertain about the work God has given them?
James 1:5 · Proverbs 3:5–6The movie presents the love of Jesus through a Christmas story. How does Christ’s coming show God’s love for people?
John 3:16 · 1 John 4:9–10The story includes a living Nativity. What does the birth of Jesus mean beyond a Christmas pageant?
Luke 2:10–14 · Philippians 2:6–8The Final Word
NOELLE is a heartfelt Christmas drama with superior acting, excellent music, and a clear Gospel message. Its slow moments and ecclesiastical questions call for discernment, but older children and adults may find its message of forgiveness and Jesus’ love worthwhile. WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER CHILDREN AND UP.
