Last Christmas (2019) [4K UHD Review]

Last Christmas, Paul Feig’s 2019 holiday romantic comedy inspired by the music of George Michael, arrived on Blu-ray in 2020 with little fanfare. Coming on the heels of a muted theatrical run, the film seemed destined to be remembered as little more than a seasonal footnote, another disposable entry in the ever-growing canon of Christmas-themed rom-coms.

But as is so often the case with films that fail to find their audiences in theaters, Last Christmas proves surprisingly rich and rewarding on closer inspection. Anchored by a winning performance from Emilia Clarke and a script that deftly balances holiday whimsy with real emotional stakes, Feig’s film emerges as one of the most satisfying and emotionally resonant romantic comedies in recent memory. Now it’s on 4K UHD, so let’s dust off a recent Holiday favorite with Last Christmas.

Let’s talk about Last Christmas

The story follows Kate (Clarke), a struggling London singer moonlighting as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Still reeling from a serious illness that derailed her personal and professional life, Kate is prone to making bad decisions and alienating her loved ones, much to the chagrin of her overbearing Yugoslavian mother (Emma Thompson, who also co-wrote the screenplay).

Enter Tom (Henry Golding), a charming and enigmatic stranger who takes an interest in Kate and begins to break down her cynical defenses. As the two embark on a whirlwind romance across London’s holiday landscape, Kate begins to confront her self-destructive patterns and rediscover her passion for life and music.

From its elevator pitch, Last Christmas could easily be dismissed as just another formulaic entry in the crowded holiday rom-com canon. But Feig and Thompson’s script proves surprisingly nuanced in its handling of its characters’ emotional journeys, lending the film’s central romance a weight and specificity that transcends its generic trappings.

It’s the one Christmas movie that people haven’t ran into the ground yet

Much of this is due to Clarke’s winning performance as Kate, which strikes a delicate balance between comic self-effacement and genuine vulnerability. As a young woman struggling to find her place in the world after a life-altering health crisis, Clarke imbues Kate with a specificity and depth of feeling that elevates the character beyond the usual rom-com archetypes.

Golding, fresh off his breakout turn in Crazy Rich Asians, proves an equally charming and enigmatic romantic foil. With his effortless charisma and soulful eyes, Golding sells Tom’s unlikely role as Kate’s guardian angel, even as the film maintains a coy ambiguity about the nature of his character’s existence.

But it’s Thompson who nearly steals the show as Kate’s mother Petra, a Yugoslav immigrant grappling with her own sense of displacement and loss. In a film full of winning supporting turns (including Michelle Yeoh as Kate’s exasperated boss), Thompson brings a specificity and emotional grounding to the character that helps to anchor the film’s more whimsical flourishes.

Indeed, one of Last Christmas’s greatest strengths is its ability to balance its more heightened romantic comedy elements with a grounded sense of place and character. Feig, a master of observational humor, fills the film with sharply drawn details about Kate’s life as a struggling artist in London, from her cramped flat to her thankless day job in the Christmas shop.

The film’s script also proves surprisingly deft in its handling of the cultural specificity of Kate’s family background. As the daughter of Yugoslav immigrants, Kate grapples with a sense of otherness and displacement that feels refreshingly authentic, even as the film avoids reducing her family’s experiences to cheap stereotypes.

George Michael has lost a step with the youth

But of course, no discussion of Last Christmas would be complete without a mention of its central conceit: the integration of George Michael’s music into the fabric of the story. On paper, the idea of building a romantic comedy around the song catalog of the late Wham! frontman might seem like little more than a cynical cash grab. But in practice, Feig and Thompson prove surprisingly adept at weaving Michael’s songs into the emotional landscape of the film, using them as a kind of Greek chorus to comment on and deepen the characters’ journeys.

From the opening strains of “Last Christmas” to the film’s climactic rendition of “Heal the Pain,” Michael’s music proves an unexpectedly poignant and effective emotional throughline. The film’s use of “Praying for Time” as a recurring motif is particularly effective, lending the story a sense of melancholy and loss that helps to ground its more whimsical elements.

Of course, Last Christmas is not a perfect film. Some of its plot developments strain credulity, and its third-act reveal relies on a twist that will be familiar to anyone versed in the tropes of holiday rom-coms. But Feig and Thompson’s script proves surprisingly deft at integrating these more formulaic elements into the larger emotional landscape of the story, using them as a means of deepening and complicating Kate’s journey rather than simply serving as cheap narrative trickery.

And in the end, it’s this emotional sincerity that sets Last Christmas apart from so many of its peers in the crowded holiday rom-com canon. By grounding its characters in a specific sense of place and history, and by refusing to sand off the rough edges of their experiences in pursuit of easy sentiment, the film emerges as a genuinely moving and resonant exploration of love, loss, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world.

Last Christmas on 4K UHD for the first time

Last Christmas makes its 4K UHD debut courtesy of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and the results are generally strong. The film’s 2160p transfer captures the warm, inviting glow of its holiday-themed cinematography, with a rich and detailed image that highlights the film’s painstaking recreation of London’s Christmas landscape.

Colors are vibrant and well-saturated throughout, from the garish reds and greens of the Christmas shop to the more muted tones of Kate’s everyday life. Black levels are deep and inky, with minimal crush, and skin tones appear natural and lifelike.

The film’s Dolby Atmos audio track is equally impressive, with a dynamic and immersive mix that highlights both the film’s festive soundscape and its George Michael-centric soundtrack. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout, with no noticeable issues with intelligibility or balance.

In terms of bonus features, Last Christmas offers a solid if unspectacular selection of supplements. The highlight is a feature-length commentary track with director Paul Feig, who proves an engaging and informative guide to the film’s production. Feig speaks at length about the challenges of integrating George Michael’s music into the fabric of the story, as well as the process of crafting the film’s emotional arc in collaboration with co-writer Emma Thompson.

Also included is a short making-of featurette that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s production, as well as a selection of deleted scenes and alternate takes. While none of these extras are particularly groundbreaking, they offer a welcome glimpse into the creative process behind the film and the collaborative spirit that fueled its production.

Final thoughts on Last Christmas

Looking back on Last Christmas a year after its release, it’s hard not to feel a sense of disappointment at its muted reception. In a crowded holiday movie landscape dominated by formulaic Hallmark Channel retreads and cynical cash grabs, Feig and Thompson’s film emerges as a genuine outlier: a romantic comedy that dares to ground its characters in a specific sense of place and history, and to grapple with the complexities of love and loss in a way that feels both authentic and deeply moving.

Much of this is due to the film’s central performances, which elevate the material beyond its more formulaic trappings. Clarke in particular proves a revelation, delivering a performance of such warmth and vulnerability that it’s hard not to be won over by her character’s journey. Golding, too, brings a sense of mystery and depth to his role as Tom, hinting at the character’s enigmatic nature without tipping his hand too early.

But it’s the film’s script that emerges as its true secret weapon, deftly balancing the demands of its romantic comedy framework with a grounded sense of emotional stakes. By refusing to sand off the rough edges of its characters’ experiences – from Kate’s health crisis to her family’s immigrant background – Last Christmas achieves a rare sense of authenticity that sets it apart from so many of its peers.

And then, of course, there’s the music. While the idea of building a romantic comedy around the songs of George Michael might have seemed like a gimmick on paper, in practice it emerges as one of the film’s greatest strengths. By carefully selecting songs that speak to the emotional arc of the story – from the melancholy yearning of “Praying for Time” to the hard-won hope of “Heal the Pain” – Feig and Thompson achieve a rare sense of synergy between music and narrative that elevates the film beyond the sum of its parts.

The result is a film that feels both timeless and distinctly of the moment – a holiday rom-com that dares to grapple with the complexities of life and love in a way that feels both authentic and deeply moving. While it may not have found the audience it deserved in theaters, Last Christmas proves more than worthy of rediscovery on 4K UHD – a charming, heartfelt gem that reminds us of the enduring power of love and human connection in a chaotic world.

Last Christmas is now available on 4K UHD at MovieZyng and other outlets

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