Nativity!

"This show needs a miracle."

2009 1h 46m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 234

ComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Paul, charged with directing his school's Nativity play, falsely boasts that his ex-girlfriend plans to turn the production into a film.

“This show needs a miracle.”

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Cast

Martin Freeman
Paul Maddens
Ashley Jensen
Jennifer Lore
Marc Wootton
Mr. Poppy
Pam Ferris
Mrs. Bevan
Jason Watkins
Gordon Shakespeare
Ricky Tomlinson
Mayor
Alan Carr
The Critic
John Sessions
Mr. Lore

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Debbie Isitt
Writers: Debbie Isitt
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Nativity Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Debbie Isitt, shot by Sean Van Hales. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nicky Ager. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nicky Ager shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen and Marc Wootton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This show needs a miracle.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1242447 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Debbie Isitt directs. Sean Van Hales behind the camera. Nicky Ager scores. Nicky Ager cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 17 years ago.
2Part of the "Nativity Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Debbie Isitt, shot by Sean Van Hales. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Nicky Ager. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Nicky Ager shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Martin Freeman and Ashley Jensen and Marc Wootton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "This show needs a miracle.".
8IMDB entry: tt1242447 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sean Van Hales
Original score: Nicky Ager
Editing: Nicky Ager
Production design: Chris Roope
Costume design: Stephanie Collie
Makeup / hair: Faye Humphreys
VFX supervisor: Tim Walton
Stunt coordinator: Riky Ash
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): 0
IMDB: Nativity! (2009)

Part of

Nativity Collection

Martin Freeman is lovelorn teacher Mr Maddens, a former am-dram star whose girlfriend (Ashley Jensen) dumped him over Christmas five years ago and upped sticks, inexplicably, to La-La Land. Yuletide cheer is not his forte, but he's forced to drum some up when Pam Ferris's headmistress earmarks him to direct the Nativity play. The sequel to the popular British comedy sees a new teacher (David Tennant) take over. When he enters his school in the National 'Song for Christmas' Competition, he and his pregnant wife, and the schoolchildren, embark on an epic road trip that ends up with a birth and a donkey, where he must embrace his fears and become a hero.

Also by

Debbie Isitt

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-12-27
★ 8/10
As warm and as enchanting as a Whisky Mac. He's a failed actor, his girlfriend has left him and gone to make it big in America, and now, school teacher Paul Maddens has to direct the Nativity play. Worse still, after a little white bragging lie to an old rival, Maddens finds things escalating out of his control. Ah, the Christmas movie, a piece of work aimed at a certain market at a certain time of year. Many movies of Christmas past have been excruciatingly bad, either by losing sight of the holiday heart, or by going for a different angle at a season which is meant to be jolly. In the main then, the Crimble picture has been blighted by a train of thinking akin to damned if you do, damned if you don't. Debbie Isitt's Nativity! will not achieve any reviews proclaiming it to be refreshingly new, rightly so since it's a standard seasonal fare based story. What hopefully will be said is how utterly beguiling and warming the film is, so yeah! Basically a Christmas picture doing its job. Chiefly in its favour is that it has a naturalness to it that keeps its charm grounded. There's no miracle in the offering here, no boink over the head with a sledgehammer to enforce its message. Isitt is happy letting the film and its delightful characters go with the flow, the result ending up as being a fully involving experience. It helps too that the army of children (plucked from local auditions by Issitt) are adorable and funny in equal measure. Not that the adults come up short either. Martin Freeman (Maddens) gives a wonderfully controlled performance as the central character, while Marc Wooton as Mr. Poppy, a character showing the child in all us adults, almost steals the movie from the delightful moppet squad. It has its faults, such as a trip to America that quickly loses momentum, and if we are honest then surely the actual Nativity finale goes on a touch too long. But such missteps are easily forgiven given the impact as a whole. My cinema visiting group at Xmas 2009 consisted of 4 adults and 4 teenagers. As we filed out, there was a mixture of wet eyes and beaming smiles. So yeah! Job done for sure. 8/10 Footnotes: Xmas 2013. With a sequel hitting the theatres this Christmas I thought it time to revisit this film. Delighted to report that it still manages to warm the old cockles of my Xmas heart and remains a seasonal picture that I urge more folk to seek out. Xmas 2015. Rewatched, still lovely.
r96sk2020-12-11
★ 7/10
Silly and stupid, but it has a charm to it. <em>'Nativity!'</em> is not a film to be taken seriously, though there is entertainment in there. Martin Freeman does well as the flawed Mr. Maddens, while Marc Wootton fully commits to the role of somewhat dodgy Mr. Poppy - he can be irritating in parts, but all in all comes out more fun than annoying... albeit just. I also found Alan Carr surprisingly amusing as Patrick Burns. Interesting to see Clarke Peters, Ricky Tomlinson and Jason Watkins involved too. It's clearly made for families and young audiences, as such I think they did a good job with this. It works. It's sweet seeing the kid cast members have so much fun with it. Intrigued to see what the three sequels have in store.