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@MisElizaJane Glows In Christmas Inheritance

by Evelyn Ulrich
Christmas Inheritance

This past weekend, Christmas Inheritance premiered on the streaming service Netflix, starring Eliza Taylor.  While the movie is your typical-run-of-the-mill holiday leisure, Eliza was the one who made it delightful and fun.  See my review below about Christmas Inheritance *The following article contains spoilers.*

Eliza Taylor Glows In Christmas Inheritance

Evelyn Ulrich

December 19th, 2017

Christmas Inheritance (Netflix December 15th, 2017) is the epitome of your classic and Hallmark-ish holiday film.  It has all the ingredients of being delightful, sentimental, light-hearted, fun, and those saccharin moments that you can’t help but smile or laugh at.  (Yet, at times, it can get very annoying from my standpoint.  But, my opinions can be invalid.) This is not a terrible thing as Christmas is supposed to emulate these, and share them with loved ones.    And that is exactly what Christmas Inheritance delivers-a fun-filled holiday treat that at the end, hope and the meaning of the season rings like a bell.  And the bright young actress playing the lead shines all the way through

Christmas Inheritance

© Netflix

.Quick Recap

The story starts off with “Party Heiress” Ellen Langford (The 100’s Eliza Taylor) acting out on a childish prank and backflipping towards a tree at a” Toys For Tots” benefit.  The behavior caused to land on the cover of the tabloids and her father, a CEO of a successful gift company in New York is not pleased.  So, he comes up with an idea, another chance to prove herself that Ellen is not a careless and spoiled girl.  She is to hand deliver letters to her father’s business partner to the small town of Snow Falls. (I had to laugh at the name as it is so cliché) Well, Ellen is stripped of her credit cards, and boards a bus headed to the town.  When she arrives, she is greeted by the innkeeper, Jake, who just happens to run over her luggage.  Ellen is only supposed to stay in Snow Falls just to personally give the letters to Zeke but is out of town.  Without her credit cards, and strapped on cash, Ellen must earn her keep at the inn by working and doing some baking with Aunt Debbie (Andie McDowell).  She even helps sets up a silent auction at the local church to help the residents.  As it turns out, Ellen (who uses a pseudonym of Ellie London in town) enjoys it and is treated with respect and as a real individual.  During a snowstorm, Ellen helps even more by sacrificing her bedroom to a woman and her young children.  When her fiancé, Gray (who I think is a real dip) stops in town to take her to Maui for Christmas, but she still has not given the letters to Zeke.  Dismayed, he agrees to her plan of staying another day if Zeke shows up.  Later that night, Ellen reads the letters penned by her father, elaborating life events, including the death of Ellen’s mother.  She is in tears, as she had never read them before, and the loss just became new and overpowering again.  Meanwhile, Gray and Jake share a conversation at the local bar, where Gray accidentally slips out that “Ellie” is actually the heiress of the Home and Hearth Gift Company, and Jake is shocked that she kept this secretive.  However, it’s with good merit and understanding as Ellen doesn’t want to be seen and be judged as the typical rich girl, and wants to be a better person.   At the inn, Jake tells her that he found out her identity, and Ellen tries to explain why she did so.  He is not having any of it, and she departs with Gray to their trip to Maui.  In the car, Ellen looks through the letters, feeling horrible and undefeated that she failed at the one task to prove herself.  Her so-called fiancé is no help as Ellen frantically looks for the missing letter, the one for this year, and Gray says it’s not a big deal, and adds that she does not belong in Snow Falls.  Angry, and had it with him, Ellen yanks off her engagement ring, gets out the car, and leaves him, heading back to the little town by bus.  She goes to the church and finds Jake, who is busy setting up for the auction and party.  She asks him if he has seen the letter, and he has not, elevating her despaired feelings.   But, not all hope is lost when Santa (it’s Zeke) reads a special letter, the letter that Ellen thought she lost.  It states that she is now the new CEO of the gift company, and even expresses that she was arriving to Snow Falls in advance.  To learn real values and the ‘gifts’ of humanity.  Ellen did learn those things, plus a bit more.  Her father, who came into Snow Falls says that the real test was not the letter, but winning over the people.  Which Ellen did, including Jake and they share a few tender moments at the end.

Christmas Inheritance

© Netflix

 

Eliza’s Direction

Fans and viewers know Eliza Taylor from her coveted and solemn role of Clarke Griffin on The 100, (The CW) and as Janae Timmons from Neighbours, a soap from her native Australia.  But Eliza is not Clarke or Janae in Christmas Inheritance, and her superb and dimensional performance as Ellen made those characters nonexistent.  I am not forgetting about Clarke at all, but Eliza puts so much life and light into every project that she is a part of.  Whether it would be a much serious character such as Clarke Griffin, a dark and mentally ill teenager in the Indie, Thumper, or a fun, bubbly, and playful heiress in Christmas Inheritance.  I don’t think that there is not one created character that Eliza cannot portray, as we have seen her talent as an actress go beyond rich horizons over the past couple of years.  No doubt that she will continue her extraordinary craft and learn along the way for years to come.

 

© Netflix

 

My Feeling Of the Film

I must admit, this category of Christmas movies is not my forte, but because of Eliza Taylor, I made the exception.  I found Christmas Inheritance very light-hearted, and though it did have some plot holes, (No cell service, but working internet?  Unless Snow Falls improvised with ancient dial-up.  Or how about having zero money in a strange town and something were to happen?) it was entertaining throughout.   The plot holes were minor to the narrative-a woman trying to find her place and prove to others that she is not just a useless human.  I could not help but laugh at Taylor’s comedic side as she attempted to vacuüm one of the guest rooms after a party, and the after effect is worse than before.  Then, there was that scene where Ellen was confused on the notion of separating the eggs.  It was little moments like this that made the film fun to watch and have a good cup of cocoa.  Plus, younger audiences who are not ready for The 100 can enjoy this without being exposed to survival violence and sexual tensions (not bad things here), with the family.

 

Christmas Inheritance

© Netflix

Final Verdict

Overall, Christmas Inheritance did reach its goal of taking away the stress of the holiday season and giving the audience some relaxation and enjoyment.   Additionally, it opened a window for Eliza to expand her talents and have more opportunities in the industry.

Christmas Inheritance is now available to stream on Netflix.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zl4dSfOjX4[/embedyt]

 

What did you think of Eliza’s holiday movie?  Let us know in the comments!


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