Angela's Christmas (2018) Movie Script

1
[match snaps, fizzles]
[fire crackling]
[puffs]
[wagon wheels rattling]
-[driver] Hup!
-[horse snorting]
[driver] Yah.
[narrator] That woman there
is my grandmother,
a hardy sort who had to raise
a family of four all by herself.
As I remember,
she wouldn't say boo to a goose.
[yells] Angela, you're late!
[narrator chuckles]
There's my Uncle Tom.
Though he was only ten at that time,
he was still the man of the family.
He's holding my auntie Aggie.
Some called her
the most handsome lady in Limerick.
-[mother] Angela!
-[narrator] And Uncle Pat.
Pat, why isn't Aggie wearing her jumper?
I couldn't get it on her, Mammy,
and Angela's late again.
That child will have me above
in St. Jeremiah's asylum.
Mammy says you'll have her in the asylum
-if you don't get down this minute.
-[mother] Pat!
[mother] Angela!
[narrator] And that little girl there?
[grunts] Uh! Ooh! Oof!
-[mother] Angela!
-Coming.
How have you grown out of this already?
You'll catch your death.
-[door closes]
-[Aggie chuckles]
She can have mine.
[narrator] She grew up to be my mother.
Thank you, Angela.
Late again, I see.
Yes. Hello, Mrs. Blake.
[sighs]
-Pat, give your jacket to Angela.
-What? My jacket to Angela?
-Get your own jacket.
-No more messing about.
-Here.
-Tom, you give yours to Pat.
[Aggie chuckles]
[narrator] And this is a story
about the Christmas Eve...
You look like a clown,
all big and bulky like--
-[mother] Pat!
-...when she was nearly six years old.
-I'm grand.
-I won't see you catching your death.
I don't want to wear my ma's coat to Mass.
-[Aggie chuckles]
-Then take my scarf.
Right, come on.
[mother] It'll be Christmas Day
before we get there.
Ha! Angela's wearing boy's clothes
Angela's got a big boy's coat
Na-na-na-na-na!
[sighs]
-You're going in.
-[grunts, giggles]
-[Pat] Maggot.
-You're a maggot. Agh!
-[gasps]
-[driver] Hey, hey, hey.
-[screams]
-[neighs]
[both gasp]
-I'm telling Mam.
-[Pat] You're not.
She'll send you to bed
without even a cup of tea.
Shut up. She won't.
When you take a coin from her purse,
you're punished.
Imagine what she would do
for pushing me under a horse.
-Hurry up, the pair of you.
-Pat pushed me.
I didn't.
-[mother] Get in.
-[narrator] Ah. St. Joseph's.
A church so cold,
if you didn't go in with a cough,
you certainly came out with one.
[chuckles]
[priest] It is a time for reflection
and a time to help those less fortunate
and to forgive foes
and those who've sinned against us.
-Telltale.
- [whispers] Stop it.
-Telltale.
-Stop it.
[priest] ...to celebrate
in one another's love.
Jesus entering Jerusalem,
coming into the temple,
they too were late,
and they were separate living out...
[gasps, grunts]
[faint murmuring]
Aye...?
-Sorry.
-[both gasp]
[whispers] Can you please
just stop fighting for one minute?
As it is written in Luke,"
"'For unto you was born this day
in the city of David
a Savior which is Christ the Lord
and this shall be a sign unto you.
You shall find the baby
wrapped in swaddling clothes
lying in a manger.'
And there were shepherds
living out in the fields nearby
keeping watch over their flocks..."
[voice fades, sermon continues]
[whispers] He'll catch his death.
-Angela, shush.
-The baby's cold.
Angela, shh!
[sermon continues]
[narrator] It was about this time
that Angela had a little idea.
It made perfect sense,
but little ideas
are often the seeds of big trouble.
[priest] Amen.
[congregation] Amen.
Amen.
[faint voices overlapping]
[man] Happy Christmas to ya!
-[Pat chuckles]
-Mama.
-Mammy, can I go back and light a candle?
-No, Angela, we need to get home.
Please, Mam, just one for the baby Jesus.
[sighs]
-Please?
-[Aggie] Mama, Mama.
-Mama, Mama.
-Stop it, Aggie. Go on, so.
[mother] But run straight home
as soon as you're done.
[Angela] I will.
[door bangs]
-[faint muttering]
-[gasps]
-[Mrs. Blake] Jesus Christ...
-...Jesus Christ and our Lord...
[praying continues]
[praying continues]
[praying continues]
[praying continues]
[man coughs, sniffles]
-[man] ...temptation...
-...Jesus...
-[praying continues]
-[loud tap]
[Mrs. Blake] Glory to the Father...
-[crunches]
-What's that?
[gasping] Ah-choo!
[squeals] Ah... ah-choo!
[sneeze echoes]
[gasps] Eh...?
[both] Bless you.
[Angela] Thank you.
[Mrs. Blake] God bless us, save us!
[door slams]
[whispers] Hello.
Would no one put a blanket
over your little body?
I bet you would never complain
'cause you wouldn't want to make
your mammy the slightest bit unhappy.
-[door opens]
-[gasps]
-What?
-[book clatters]
[priest] Oh!
[moans, mutters]
Oh, the thief. The thief...!
[mutters]
[doors clatter]
-...said thank you to me.
-I think He said thank you to me first.
There's no way...
-[panting]
-[man] But if you remember rightly...
[Angela] Are you all right in there?
We'll get you home,
get you all warm and snuggly
and wrap you up
like a little holy sausage.
-[gasps]
-[elders' voices overlapping]
Mm-hmm.
Oh, it's not far.
Just a few streets down that way.
[man] Father, how are you?
There's been a miracle.
[priest] What? What miracle?
[gasps]
Look at all those lovely sweets.
If you're good, Mam might give us a penny
and we can spend it on whatever we want.
Bull's-eyes, pear drops, humbugs,
whatever you want.
What's that?
Oh, no, we can't go in, Baby Jesus.
Mam said we had to go
straight home, no question.
Well, since it's your birthday,
we'll go in for one minute.
Oh, it's free to look.
You can look at them all day if you like.
[voices overlapping within]
[horse nickers]
[patrons singing]
Would you look at them all there?
[man] Excuse me.
My favorites are the apple drops.
Excuse me. Shop's closed.
[stammers] I-I didn't--
Hey, what have you got there?
-Is it a dolly from Santy?
-No, 'tis too early for Santy.
-Did you steal it from Santy?
-Er--
[men laughing]
-Oof!
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
-[panting]
-Shh, shh. Easy, easy, easy.
Uh...?
What's that?
Uh...
Is it...
Is it a Christmas shillin'?
Thanks.
[policeman] Huh.
[panting] Oh, Baby Jesus,
they don't understand.
I'm not stealing you.
I just want to get you warm.
One night, just one night in my room,
then I'll bring you back.
-[panting]
-[wind whistling]
-[faint crackling]
-[gasps]
[creaking]
[whispers] It's just silly shadows.
-[wind whistling]
-[branches creaking]
[squeals]
[panting]
It's just silly shadows.
I'm not at all frightened,
so you shouldn't be either.
-[music playing]
-Penny for the pauper.
[Angela gasps, moans]
[gasps]
[Angela] There you go.
[chuckles]
Even I can see that you have
a good heart, me darlin'.
Merry Christmas.
[pauper] And a merry Christmas to you.
[music playing]
[splashes]
[Aggie cooing within]
I don't want anyone gawking at us.
Let's go round the back.
Will you help me, Baby Jesus?
Okay, so...
one, two, three... hup!
No, no, no, Baby Jesus.
You have to go over the wall. Again.
One, two, three. Hup!
Come on now, Baby Jesus.
No more messin'.
Try really hard this time.
One, two, three. Hup!
-[distant barking]
-[gasps]
You did it, Baby Jesus.
Good man, yourself.
[grunts]
[grunts]
[gasps] Oh, no.
Oh, no, Baby Jesus.
[Angela gasps]
[gasps]
What are you doing in Mrs. Blake's yard?
There's no excuse
for the way you're behaving,
flying round like an angel.
I've a good mind to leave you there.
[sighs]
All right, all right.
I'll come and get you.
Don't make a sound.
Oh, no, you poor thing.
And me giving out to you and everything.
And you're smiling at me
even though I hurt you.
Come here to me.
[grunts]
[grunts]
-[door opens]
-[gasps]
Huh?
That's the baby Jesus from the church.
He's supposed to be sleeping in his crib
and you have him here
in the freezing cold?
I'm warming him up.
[Pat] His mammy will be roaring
and bawling when she sees him gone.
-[Tom singing]
-[mother] Right, fire.
This is where myself and Aggie sleep.
Now you must be careful
'cause she ripped the head off my doll.
[gasps] But don't worry, I'll mind you.
Rest with me
We'll be warm and free to dream
[narrator] I doubt that there was
a warmer place in Limerick...
[Angela] Of all the things to come...
[narrator] ...than in Angela's room
that night.
[Angela] For you, my little one
-[bangs]
-Angela's upstairs with the baby Jesus.
[Angela] Look up high and see
All the stars above you and me
Is she now? Isn't that great?
They shine a light
On all the things to come
For you, my little one
His mammy will be roaring and bawlin'.
And I suppose all the angels and saints
are coming over for dinner too.
[Tom, Aggie, mother laugh]
[mother] Pat.
Shh, shh, shh.
Of all the things yet to come
-I'm telling the truth!
-[clatters]
-[panting]
-[Angela] For you, my little one
[puffs]
-[humming]
-[footsteps scuffling]
[gasps]
-See? I wasn't telling stories.
-Mother of God.
Is that the baby Jesus
from St. Joseph's?
[stammers] I-- I just wanted to warm him.
Oh, Jesus.
We can sneak him into the milk mart.
They'll find him in the morning.
-He'll freeze!
-You can't just steal the baby Jesus.
His mammy will be sick with worry.
-I'm keeping him warm.
-He has to go back to his mam!
-[Angela] Stop. He's staying.
-She's gonna be sick!
-[Tom] He can't just stay here, Angela.
-[Pat] He has to go back!
[mother] Enough!
Enough, all of you.
Pat, put the kettle on.
-What about the--?
-Put the kettle on.
Please, Mammy, please?
I'll warm him and I'll tell his mother
we have him safe in the bed.
You've all had your say.
Now I want to tell you a story--
one about the night you were born.
-I was born on New Year.
-Stroke of midnight.
Head in the old year, feet in the new.
We were gonna write to the Pope
to ask what year you were born in.
We can't be listening to stories
with the baby Jesus on the table.
The night you were born,
it was bitterly cold.
[chuckles]
So cold that the midwife kept her coat on.
[mother] She was young, in love,
with the new year
and a new suitor waiting.
But what no one knew
was that my own heart was breaking.
-Happy New Year.
-[Angela cries]
Why was your heart breaking, Mam?
Your father.
-Go in and meet your sister, boys.
-[boys chuckle]
[mother] Your father didn't want the baby
being born into a cold house.
Hi, babba.
[mother] So he went out
to get coal for the fire.
I got word shortly before Angela was born.
[Angela cries]
[mother] The guards locked
your father up in the Limerick jail
for trying to take a few lumps of coal
off the back of the fuel cart.
Sure, he was just trying to do
the right thing,
just trying to warm the house.
[Angela cries]
[mother] It should have been
one of the happiest days of our lives.
Instead, my heart was broken in pieces.
[fizzles]
[mother] But then...
In you go, Pat.
[mother] Together, we were warm.
Because that is what families do.
They shelter each other from the storm.
They bring joy where there is sadness,
warmth where there is none.
Your father wasn't proud
of his actions that night,
but when he heard
how you boys minded your mother,
when he saw his baby daughter
for the first time,
he was the proudest man in Limerick.
I miss Dadda.
I know you do, Pat. We all do.
He needs to go home.
-Angela?
-I just need to do one thing.
[thumps]
[Pat] What is she doing, Mam?
-[Angela] Come on!
-Huh?
-[door opens]
-Angela, wait.
-Will you come on?
-[mother] Boys, coats.
[Angela] Come on.
You'll have me above in St. Jeremiah's
with your messin'.
What if we're caught, Angela?
We'll be fine, Pat. Come on.
[music playing]
[voices murmuring]
-[man laughing]
-And then, He let out a sneeze.
A sneeze so small and heavenly,
only an angel could have made it.
A sneezy miracle!
And then, then--
Didn't the Baby Jesus Himself
only go and thank the both of us?
[man] Amazing!
[whispers] Quick.
[whispers] Come on.
-[door opens]
-[Angela gasps]
[priest gasps]
Oh, you've broken it.
Sorry.
-[mother] Sorry, Father.
-Guard, we have the thief.
-[door opens]
-[Angela] But, but...
[rattling]
[panting]
No, no, no, no.
She was only warming the baby Jesus.
You won't put my sister in jail.
You won't.
You can put me in the Limerick jail.
He was cold in the crib,
so I took him home to warm him up.
Well, then.
It looks like we've no choice
but to lock you up
for the taking of... "one baby Jesus."
And on his birthday, of all things.
[giggles]
I fail to see
how this is a laughing matter.
You're right, Father.
There is nothing funny
about taking a child,
any child-- away from his family
on Christmas Eve.
[priest] Wait.
You'll need this...
or you'll catch your death.
Thank you.
[softly] Goodbye.
-[mother] Good boy, Pat.
-[Angela] Thanks, Pat.
-[Tom] Yeah, well done, Pat.
-Thanks.
Oh, dear Lord.
[gasps]
[laughs]
[sighs] Ah...!
[laughing]
[gasps]
[policeman] Happy Christmas!
[all] Happy Christmas!
[Mrs. Blake] He blessed me.
It's a miracle. A Christmas miracle!
-It's a miracle.
-[laughter]
-[bartender] Happy Christmas.
-And a merry Christmas to you.
[snaps]
[crackling]
-[mother] Angela?
-Coming.
[narrator] And what about the baby Jesus,
you ask?
Well, he smiled the way he always did...
[puffs]
and held out his arms to the world.
He was as warm and cozy
as any baby that night.
All with a little help
from Angela, of course.
All with a little help
from my mother.
["Angela's Song" plays]
Rest with me
We'll be warm and free to dream
Of all the things yet to come
For you, my little one
Look up high and see
All the stars above you and me
They shine a light
On all the things to come
For you, my little one
Stay with me
Forget the cold streets
Of Limerick city
Let's drift away
And sing our song
And dream on and on
Lay with me
Let us sing a sweet melody
Of all the things yet to come
For you, my little one
Look up high and see
All the stars above you and me
They shine a light
On all the things to come
For you, my little one
Look up high and see
All the stars above you and me
They shine a light
On all the things to come
For you, my little one