‘R Xmas (2002): B+

Analogizing the commercialization of illegal drugs and the December holidays is Abel Ferrara’s nominal aim with ‘R Xmas, but such parallels between upper-class materialism (embodied by two women fighting over the season’s coveted Party Girl doll) and lower-class cocaine dealing ultimately feel less inspired than the film’s authentic depiction of ritual as the substance that binds together couples, families and communities. Thus, while the director spends copious amounts of time depicting the narcotics trade as merely another capitalist avenue for enrichment, his most recent effort thrives when it’s least busy trying to make a big, overt point, its social commentary – beginning and ending with text crawls about NYC mayors David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani, who transformed Manhattan from Ferrara’s beloved gutter into a Disney-fied tourist attraction – nowhere near as compelling as laid-back scenes involving Hispanic protagonists “The Husband” (Lillo Brancato Jr.) and “The Wife” (Drea de Matteo) cruising around nighttime city streets in their BMW or preparing coke baggies in the living room while their daughter sleeps. Ferrara’s snapshots of his characters’ everyday routines radiate realism partly due to the script’s bilingual dialogue (the Spanish presented without subtitles) and partly because of the director’s refusal to juice up his film’s casual tempo with gangster-action plot developments (save for the kidnapping of The Husband by Ice-T’s dual-identity Kidnapper). ‘R Xmas’ flesh-and-blood soul, however, comes straight from de Matteo, whose protective mother boasts enough intelligence, attitude and ferocity to ignite even the most mundane of moments.