Emilia Clarke Explores “Truthful Depiction of Humanity” In ‘Last Christmas’

I’m not one to plunk down money to see romantic comedies, but Last Christmas is definitely on my radar. For one, it’s directed by Paul Feig, the filmmaker behind such excellent features as A Simple Favor and Bridesmaids (I still haven’t checked out Ghostbusters). Feig collaborates with Emilia Clarke and his A Simple Favor actor Henry Golding in Last Christmas, and in the audio below Clarke elaborates on why the film should make viewers “feel warm and good inside.”

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Last Christmas centers on Kate (Emilia Clarke), a woman who’s having a bad string of luck. Whether it’s career decisions or internet dating, Kate is simply striking out, and this holiday season she’s working as one of Santa’s elves at a department store. Henry Golding is Tom, a positive chap who helps Kate see the sunnier side of life, and their budding union may bring a bit of holiday cheer to Kate’s life.

Along with Feig’s direction, the picture is penned by Emma Thompson (who also stars) and her husband Greg Wise. There is an abundance of talent in Last Christmas, and even though I’m guessing that Tom might be a guardian angel (rather than a real human being!), I’m still on board behind the ultimate theme that drives the feature.

“The thing that makes the film beautiful is its relatability,” said Clarke. “And the only way you can get that is by having a truthful depiction of humanity. And I feel like both Tom and Kate and Kate’s family and all of the characters in our film are honest and real. No one’s perfect and everyone’s messy and everyone’s complicated. As a viewer, you’re watching that and you’re going ‘me too, I beat myself up all the time . . . I’m not perfect.’ Whilst it’s nice sometimes to watch movies that you can aspire to and all of these things, this is grounded so much in truth. The beauty of life is in its frailty. The beauty of life is when things go wrong and how we overcome those things. The beauty can be found in the mistakes and the complications of being a messy human being.”

For the full audio version of Clarke’s answer, in which she says this film should make viewers “feel good and warm inside,” is below:

Last Christmas hits theaters November 8. Are you excited for this movie? Feel free to comment below!