User Reviews

G-rated, formulaic, and utterly predictable. Feel-good for the younger set. Too much soft focus and quirky music. But, the child and her gran are a delight. A respite from the felonious characters of other Christmas movies. Pretty location. Light a candle, drink a nog, and sour back with a Hallmark-style movie.

I have only one criticism regarding the story line. At the beginning, the main character, Jessica, is sitting at a small rail station in the middle of what turns out to be, Yorkshire. She was enroute to Vienna for a concert. Her flight was canceled. She ends up taking a train twenty miles away from the town where I presume the airport was. This was confusing especially since I once lived in Yorkshire. One other detail that bothered me was the endless supply of winter coats, hats and scarves. When she was at the train station she had a small to medium sized suitcase. That being said, this was a nice love story set at Christmas time. It was a British version of a Hallmark Christmas movie. No swearing, no violence and predictable. The location where it was filmed was beautiful. It's worth a watch at the end of a hectic day.

Anyone who lives in the UK would agree, this is pure unadulterated escapism. Opening Train Station and Steam Train proves it's lack of reality. Nothing like a Yorkshire accent from Andrew! If you like bubblegum movies, you'll enjoy it! ps. No fried bread on the breakfast!?

I assume the director cut his teeth on tv adverts

ok so the acting is awful

the cafe patrons are hilariously bad (hands up who wants to be in a christmas film?) a 'town cryer-a gram' is a brilliant idea

'andrew' is clearly from the south of england but the little girl is adorable "sweetheart"

it's a fantasy, we don't have 'steam trains' it's the 21st century or stationmasters although is he supposed to be santa?

But the biggest crime is no mention knaresboroughs most famous resident 'old mother shipton' no petrified well, no premonition's, no witches at all, a missed opportunity me thinks!

This gets off to a bad start: a steam train as a regular service from a train station attached to a regional UK airport? No; diesel or electric, I'm afraid.

The script really is terrible, with characters making consequential decisions with little believable motivation. The dialogue is atrocious. And some of the actors, especially the male lead, are so wooden they make the script and dialogue seem even worse.

It's just a horrible, horrible mess. I'm sure it's perfectly possible to made a pleasingly quirky film about a big city American woman in a rural English town, but this is a miserable attempt.

Good little film, nice to see the Yorkshire beauty rather than all the glitz and glamour of New York film's!!! Only annoying thing was the blasted kid saying " sweetheart" all the time......

Full disclaimer, I love Hallmark Christmas movies. I now feel like I imagine Americans do when they watch them; do all small towns in America really have Christmas Tree farms and cookie factories? Probably not. For American tourists let me manage your expectations; the only airport in Yorkshire anywhere near is Leeds Bradford. If you were stranded at the airport you would get a taxi to the nearest premier inn. Never in all my time living in Leeds did a steam train with compartment pull up as part of a normal service! Don't get me started on the male lead's accent... other than that - terrible!

Great Christmas movie! I must confess this is the first time I've heard of Mark Killeen but man is he ever the actor...handsome and all. (Sorry I had to Google him and I don't watch GOT. Movie is set in a nice setting. The little girl in the movie, who plays his daughter, is absolutely adorable. I would recommend this as a romantic Christmas movie to watch alone or with someone.

Clearly filmed at every time of the year except Christmas, English actors playing Americans (with varying levels of rubbish accent), Americans with indeterminate accents playing possibly English people, English people putting on deeply unconvincing over cooked Yaarkshire accents, some of the most appallingly wooden acting in some cases, and stupidly hammy in others. A plot thinner than a sheet of graphene. My wife was watching it on channel 5 and I ended up having to leave the room it was that bad. Low-rent nonsense that you should avoid. In the cast pantheon of Christmas films, this one is not just scraping the bottom of the barrel, it's somewhere underneath the barrel in the primeval sludge of leakage.

What an absolute gem of a film. With something for all of the family, this fab story of love and triumph offers romance, smiles at the touch of comedy with a smattering of tears to make a great storyline that cannot fail to please.

If you love a Christmas film, this has to be top of your list to watch.

I loved this movie for personal reasons as it reminded me of my daughter who moved with her family to live in Canada.

Knaresborough was one of my memorable highlights when I visited Yorkshire many years ago.

I enjoyed the scenery, spirit of Christmas & romantic aspects. I didn't allow the accents to spoil it. Seeing a movie without Sci-fi, violence & swearing is a refreshing change.

My only disappointment is that we never heard singing at the end.

Lily James would have been perfect in the lead role as she has musical & acting talent & more music would have been a welcome addition.

Yes, it was twee, but glad we just happened to switch on the Tele and stumbled upon this movie.

It brought a tear or two to my eyes as I saw it through the eyes of a child with happy memories of the festive season shared with family as well as my visit to Knaresborough.

Oh dear some of the acting is so bad it's embarrassing.

I recognise some faces, it not the lead male actor (playing Andrew?) he is as wooden as trees in his field. My sister, who couldn't see him but heard him, said what is David Beckham doing in a film about Yorkshire? He's so bad that we felt Vinnie Jones would do a better job - that's how bad he was. There were some parts obviously played by locals and they were just as bad (the ladies in the cafe ordering Angels).

The young girl who was mostly unintelligible, had a very annoying voice she kept saying sweetart I think she was saying sweetheart! An OK predictable, feel good film, but needs to be shelved or remade (or some voices dubbed- the lead male and young girl) to make it watchable and bearable!

This film is a disgrace to Britain's great filmmaking reputation, and I'm ashamed that this is out there!

This film was so enjoyable, with beautiful settings. It wasn't like most of the Christmas movies that play in abundance, because of the rich characters and the actors convincing performances. I recommend this movie for a relaxing and cozy time.

Awful accents, they are all supposed to be in Yorkshire for heaven's sake, very poor, farcical story line, obvious ending, poor acting. Just wasted several hours of my time. Full of corn. Trying too hard.....Don't bother.

Well I have just watched 'A Very Yorkshire Christmas'. I'm not sure why the title has changed here to 'British'.

Sadly it's one of those silly, predictable films, you know as soon as there's a young woman and a single bloke that something will happen, throw in a toothless 'cute' (to some) daughter, plus a failing business............

Although filmed in Yorkshire, it was obviously an American film, with a dire and schmaltzy American script. It's a wonder they weren't all saying 'happy holidays'. They even sing a traditional American carol, one hardly heard here.

It's odd that the 'opera singer' is en-route to Vienna but ends up in Yorkshire! How she keeps her hair and (lots of) make-up intact is beyond me. As well her extensive wardrobe (my friends counted four coats and several pairs of boots).

Anyway, the lead male is dreadful. Goodness know why he was cast - he has no charisma, no personality and sounds like David Beckham. Is he even an actor? He delivers the already poor lines with a monotone pitch, no emotion, nothing. The daughter is Kate (aaargh). It must have been explained but I wonder how the mum, son and grandchild ended up in Yorkshire; mum has a slight Yorkshire/northern accent (the wonderful Michelle Dotrice), son has a cockney accent, the child, Kate can't make up her mind which accent she should be using.

SPOILER NB it usually snows in Yorkshire - I don't know why there constant remarks about it - the CGI snow wouldn't have been needed had they filmed in winter!

If you watch no other film this festive season, watch this lovely family film.

As someone that lives in North Yorkshire I'll address a few things, but let's not forget, this film is fiction and doesn't claim to be factual.

Yes The main airport in Yorkshire is Leeds Bradford, a quick taxi or bus to Leeds would put the main character into Leeds, one of the biggest cities in the UK but does it matter? No.

Leeds Bradford airport isnt served by a steam train, but, in the North Yorkshire Moors and Dales (where this is set) there is a steam train to go around the towns and villages, so not as wrong as many point out.

Knarebrough (the town used as the main base) is beautiful, obviously it has areas of new build houses and trading estates, but in the town centre and direct outskirts, it's old and stunning, it's also not in the Dales or the Moors, but what fiction films are true to life?

It's a cheesy Christmas film that shows off Yorkshire's beauty, even if things are moved around a little.

Don't set your expectations high, take it for what it is and you won't be a Christmas Grinch like some reviewers.

We really enjoyed his film. Great actors and great locations. A feel good film. The young girl steals the show. UK meets USA. We would highly recommend this movie if you looking for a well made, great location, Christmas feel good movie.

Before I get into the review, here are my ratings for the movie.

The story gets 0.75 out of 2: The Direction a 1.25: The Pacing receives a 1.25: While the Acting gets 1.25: And my Enjoyment level earns a 1.25 out of 2: This brings the total for A Very Yorkshire Christmas to 5.75 out of 10.

The one thing that lets this film down, as with most Christmas Tales, is the story. For the most part, you have seen this before; especially, if like me, you love Christmastime. And there's an extra problem; the story has told better.

Writers Karl Hall and Steven Nesbit, who also directed the film, give the viewer a tale of love and romance, the essential ingredients in most Chrimbo flicks. Jessica's an American opera singer forced into an overnight stay in England when her flight has trouble. Somehow, she finds herself on a quaint British railway station platform. Though, if her plane had put down near a city, the platform wouldn't be quite so warm and welcoming. She then lucks out. Because somebody forgot to erect a hotel close to the airport she has to find a place to bed down. Luckily, she hops onto a steam train and heads off into the wilds of North Yorkshire. Talk about writers prerogative. This annoyed the hell out of me. Though I've seen The Flying Scotsman a few times and had the please of feeding coal into a steam engine at the local Roundhouse open day, I've never had the pleasure of riding in a steam train carriage, especially on a mail-line. For our American friends, be aware that if you're looking for this style of transport you won't find it on a main-line. What you'll get is a small two-carriage Bug-Unit, which resembles the inside of a bus, with dirty and, sometimes, slashed and graffitied seats. And that isn't at all romantic.

Jessica misses her stop because the lull of the train's rhythm sends her off to the land of nod. Upon her awakening, she finds herself in Knaresborough, which is a beautiful country town. She calls into a local café looking for sustenance and meets the only other American in town. What's the odds(?) Her fellow compatriot advises her of a Holiday park nearby who could put her up for the night. Fortunately, for us and the story, the part is run by a recently widowed Andrew, along with his mother, Sandra, and his cute and charming daughter, Katie. As might be expected, the park is in financial problems, and a mining company are wanting to buy Andrew out, but he's obstinant and proud.

From here on forward, we of the Christmas movie admirers club are on very familiar ground.

For me, Hall and Nesbit, move the story too fast. There are numerous balls in motion, and most of them take very ambiguous courses. Luckily for the audience, they keep the story light and tongue-in-cheek. It's hard to take the story too seriously when the writers don't.

It helps hugely that Nesbit is a decent director. You get some genuinely pleasant images of Knaresborough and the surrounding countryside. He uses these views to set the mood of the film. Take the kiss scene. It's set on the river in a rowboat with the Knaresborough viaduct in the background. It's a beautifully thought out shot. He then goes the extra mile by giving us a long-distance shot showing the couple in the rowboat. He shoots this setting from the hillside, looking down on them. It's a straightforward static view but adds so much to the romantic atmosphere of the scene. There are a few "pretty" walks around the town and Nesbitt frames all of them impeccably.

As with most romance films, the pace is a secondary thought, and it appears to be the case here. Nesbitt keeps the storytelling to a moderate tempo. Though I do believe it would have been more charming to slow it down a tad when we arrived at the hesitant kissing sections. The hesitancy would have added to the anticipation of the forthcoming snog-session. And, added to the humour element when they are inevitably disturbed by Katie. We all know the secret of good comedy.

As for the performances, the cast is okay, but it's the supporting cast that adds to the film's and story's strength.

Steve Evets, who is a much-understated actor, is superb as the Scrooge-Fagin character of Ben Ritchie. His performance and his stories finale brought a tear to my eye. Michele Dotrice is the ideal mother, and the role fits her snugly indeed. And, though it's just a minor walk-on part, Paul Barber delivers an impressive performance as an irascible workman that's been instructed to investigate a power outage. These actors and actresses are sublime and subtle in their executions, which makes their characters believable.

Regrettably, this cannot be said for the rest. Who at times, appear a smidge hammy or wooden. The worst, and best of these, is Isla Cook; she's the child actress who plays Katie. You can literally see her grow as an actress throughout this role. There are moments when you know she's merely reciting her lines. And, at other times, she's just as believable as the others. Her skill is evident in the cookie cooking sequence. Who knew cookie cooking could be cute and heartwarming and funny.

All things considered, this is not the best or most realistic Christmas Film I've watched. But, it is enjoyable and well worth a look-see. Nevertheless, I wouldn't rush out to watch it.

Jump on the steam train and chuff your way over to my Ho! Ho! Ho! Christmas Belles list to see where the a Yorkshire Christmas ranks.

Take Care & Stay Well & Merry Christmas.

And boring as hell! Bad acting and trite dialogue, this is one movie to miss!