November Christmas

It's Hallmark, but not a romance story. Instead it's a story about a little girl with cancer. It's about her story and her family's story and about a nearby farmer who reaches out to support the struggling family. It's a story about what some extra effort from friends and neighbors can do to ease the road for a family who has "been dealt a bad hand" as Jess tells Tom.

The elements are there that make it hard not to have a story that brings tears to your eyes. The acting and direction do what's needed to make this happen.

The ending is kind of abrupt. It's plenty teary, but makes a leap that left some things not quite complete. For example, I would have loved to know more about the waitress/writer. Also, it wasn't much of a surprise, but I wouldn't have had the result any other way.

The movie is adapted from a short story and the story in the movie is a little thin because much of the screen time is spent developing characters' feelings and relationships rather than plot twists and other devices.