Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Writers/directors: Eshom and Ian Nelms, Icon Film Distribution.
“You better watch out” is what the promotional material states. The Fatman is here, but he is not your normal Santa. He’s not just fat and jolly. In fact, he’s a gruff, beaten man, who is in the middle of a financial struggle. He is frustrated about the world turning into an unruly place and not above wielding guns to defend himself. The plot follows an unorthodox Santa Claus who must also fight off an assassin sent by a vengeful, naughty kid.
Fatman‘s vision of Father Christmas is a state of being that’s a free-for-all miscellany. Santa, also known as Chris Cringle (Mel Gibson, Braveheart, Hacksaw Ridge, Gallipoli) are not going to be able to survive. Working alongside his faithful and pragmatic wife, Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Secrets & Lies, Without A Trace), they fight to keep the lights on in the workshop and the elves employed. Reaching the end of their rope they’re forced to enter into a two-month contract with the US military that wants to procure their services.
Making matters worse, Chris gets locked into a deadly battle of wits against a highly skilled hitman Jonathan Miller (Walton Goggins) who is credited as being the ‘Skinny Man’. He works in a toy store and has a personal grudge against Chris for “letting him down” in his unhappy childhood.
The assassin is hired by a precocious 12-year-old after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking and swears to take revenge. The spoiled, rich kid Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) lives with his ailing grandmother and pines for attention from his absentee father. He is neglected by his father and cannot stand to lose.
The latest film by brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms is an out-of-the-ordinary, dim Christmas movie that’s a questioning mix of fancy, aggression and some unexpected chuckles.
