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Drea de Matteo, Lillo Brancato Jr., Ice-T, Victor Argo, Frank Cuervo ... see more see more... , Lisa Valens , Naomi Morales , Denia Brache , Gloria Irizarry

Cult favorite Abel Ferrara directed and co-wrote this story set in New York City in 1993, before Mayor Rudy Giuliani's much-publicized crusade against street crime put a dent in semi-public drug deali... read more read more...ng in the city. It's a few days before Christmas, and a Latin American couple living on the city's Upper East Side (Lillo Brancato Jr. and Drea de Matteo) are watching their daughter (Lisa Valens) perform in her school's holiday pageant. Afterward, the couple drop the child off with a babysitter and set out to run some errands. They have two items on their agenda: get their daughter the doll she's been asking for (a nearly impossible task, since the toy has become the must-have item of the season), then head to their work space uptown, where they prepare and package heroin for street distribution. While the wife has her qualms about the ethics of drug dealing, both she and her husband know there's plenty of money to be made in heroin -- more than most Hispanic immigrants could make working legitimate jobs in New York -- and the business has been highly lucrative for them. The couple discovers one of their lower-level dealers may be talking to the police, but they soon have a bigger problem to deal with when the husband is lured to the Bronx by a fence who can get him the toy he's been looking for. The husband finds he's been lured into a trap, and a kidnapper (Ice-T) gives the wife less than a half hour to collect and pay a huge ransom, or her husband will be killed. As in Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant, the audience never learns the names of most of the major characters in 'R Xmas; also like Bad Lieutenant (as well as King of New York and The New Rose Hotel), Ferrara invited pioneering gangster rapper Schooly-D to contribute to the film's score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

33% liked it

318 ratings

Critics

63% liked it

24 critics

R, 1 hr. 23 min.

Directed by: Abel Ferrara

Release Date: October 5, 2001

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DVD Release Date: November 19, 2002

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Stats: 26 reviews

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Thomas Murray as Accomplice No. 2 in 'R Xmas (2001)
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Flixster Reviews (26)

  • cacutshaw
    November 18, 2007
    cacutshaw
    Good Ferrara film, and the first film to kick off my Xmas. The touching story of husband and wife drug dealers and the trials they encounter and lessons they learn over the holiday season. A story of family, love and charity...and sleazebags. Good performances, gritty atmospher... read moree and typical (meaning great) Ferrara direction make this a worthy addition to the Ferrara "dirtbag cinema" catalogue.

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Critic Reviews

V.A. Musetto
November 22, 2002
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

Ferrara's best film in years.

Stephen Holden
November 21, 2002
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Once Ice-T sticks his mug in the window of the couple's BMW and begins haranguing the wife in bad stage dialogue, all credibility flies out the window. Full Review

J. Hoberman
November 19, 2002
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

Ferrara's strongest and most touching movie of recent years. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
November 7, 2002
Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times

Admirers of director Abel Ferrara may be relieved that his latest feature, R Xmas, marks a modest if encouraging return to form. Full Review

Michael Rechtshaffen
February 28, 2002
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

What could have been right at home as a nifty plot line in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic fails to arrive at any satisfying destination.

Nick Schager
June 22, 2006
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

De Matteo ... boasts enough intelligence, attitude and ferocity to ignite even the most mundane of moments. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 26, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

[This] dark, woozy Christmas movie is one of Ferrara's best films. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
September 29, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

An undeveloped story. Full Review

Eric Monder
August 8, 2004
Eric Monder, Film Journal International

Can't quite deliver the goods, but it still provides a few highs along the way. Full Review

Ryan Cracknell
February 1, 2003
Ryan Cracknell, Apollo Guide

Highlighted by a gritty style and an excellent cast, it's better than one might expect when you look at the list of movies starring Ice-T in a major role. Full Review

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'R Xmas Trivia

  • Who was the real life rock star that played "Patti" in the movie "Light of Day"?  Answer »
  • It's actually Michael J. Fox playing that guitar and singing alongside gal pal Joan Jett in this 1987 rocker movie:  Answer »
  • Who is this artist? Also starred in the movie "Light of Day"  Answer »
  • Her real name is Joan Marie Larkin   Answer »
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