Last Christmas

aLast Christmas is a 2019 romantic comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who co-wrote the story with her husband, Greg Wise. Based on the song of the same name, the film stars Emilia Clarke as a cynical Christmas store worker who forms a relationship with a mysterious man (Henry Golding) and begins to fall for him; Thompson and Michelle Yeoh also star.

The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and chemistry of Clarke and Golding but criticized the screenplay, clichés, and plot twist, and has grossed $68 million worldwide.

Katarina “Kate” (Emilia Clarke) works a dead end job as an elf at a Christmas shop that sells ornaments all year round. She is currently homeless after being thrown out by her flatmate. While at work she notices a man outside staring upwards. Having approached him, she discovers that his name is Tom (Henry Golding); she is attracted to him but finds him disconcerting.

After an unsuccessful singing audition, Kate sees Tom again and they go for a walk, where he charms her with his whimsical observations of London. Returning to work the following morning, she discovers that her failure to lock the shop has led to a break-in. Her boss, who she refers to as “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh), expresses disappointment in Kate, implying that she has changed from the thoughtful and kind person she used to be.

Isolating herself from the one friend who let her crash at her apartment, Kate is forced to return to her parents’ home. Both are Yugoslavian immigrants; her mother (Emma Thompson) suffers from depression and her father, a former lawyer, works long hours as a minicab driver as he can’t afford to retrain to practise in the UK. Kate resents her mother, who dotes on her while ignoring Kate’s sister Marta (Lydia Leonard), a successful lawyer. Kate begins spending more time with Tom, who rides a bike and volunteers at a homeless shelter, which she initially mocks. While searching for Tom, who says he keeps his phone in a cupboard and often disappears for days at a time, she begins helping at the shelter in the hope of meeting him but finds that the staff have no knowledge of him.

While celebrating Marta’s promotion, Kate ends up outing Marta, who lives with her girlfriend. She then runs into Tom, who takes her back to his apartment. Kate reveals that a year earlier she was seriously ill and had to have a heart transplant. For a time the transplant made her mother happy as she had someone to care for, but Kate feels half dead and questions whether she has the talent to make it as a performer. After opening up to Tom, Kate tries to initiate sex but he declines.

Nevertheless, Kate continues to try to do good in her daily life. Finally, wanting to make amends to Tom, Kate returns to his apartment only to meet an estate agent who is holding viewings. He reveals that the previous owner was killed in a bicycle accident a year ago and the place has been empty during the probate process. Finding his phone in the cupboard, Kate realizes that Tom was the organ donor whose heart is now inside her, and that all their interactions were just herself, and she only imagined Tom was there. Going to a small garden which was Tom’s favorite place, Kate encounters him again where he says his heart will always belong to her.

For Christmas, Kate organizes a show utilizing the talents of the people at the shelter and inviting all of her friends, new and old, including her entire family as well as the newly coupled Santa and Danish man. Kate delicately performs a solo of the song Last Christmas intertwined with flashbacks of her so-called ‘encounters’ with Tom until revelry ensues when the curtain raises and she is joined by the band of performers. Later, Kate and the family celebrate Christmas together joined by Alba, Marta’s girlfriend, for the first time.

The Christmas celebration fades out and a bright light transitions to a summer scene where a visibly healthier, happier Kate is seen writing in her journal in the garden to which Tom introduced her. She is sitting on Tom’s memorial bench, with a plaque bearing his name and birth and death years. Smiling and visibly joyful, Kate looks up, as Tom always advised.