by Georgie Riggs, arts and entertainment editor

Anything touched by Nora Ephron should be considered a holiday classic. So what’s better than a film written and directed by Ephron, starting in New York City in the fall and ending in New York City in the spring, for Christmas time?

Starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, “You’ve Got Mail” contains the essence of a perfect yuletide film. Sure, the focus is less on Christmas specifically and more on romance and capitalism. And yes, while it’s essentially a remake of a fantastic Christmas movie from 1940 — Ernst Lubitsch’s “The Shop Around the Corner” — the film widens the timeline and modernizes the central themes. Even with the slightly diverging themes, I’m here to argue that the best Christmas movie is “You’ve Got Mail.”

The film follows Kathleen Kelly, played by Meg Ryan, the owner of an independent children’s bookstore in New York. The Barnes & Noble-like corporate behemoth Fox Books moves in down the street, lead by third-generation capitalist Joe Fox, played by Tom Hanks. This threatens not only Kelly's business but also her sense of purpose in the community. At the same time, she engages in an ongoing AOL chat relationship with a man even though she is in a committed relationship to her luddite, newspaper columnist boyfriend, played by Greg Kinnear, who is too busy waxing poetically on the values of typewriters to notice her secret digital rendezvous.

Little does Kathleen know, the same capitalist villain ripping apart her hopes and dreams is the man in her AOL inbox chatting her up about “The Godfather” and reading her soliloquies on “Pride and Prejudice.” Tom Hanks is at his Jimmy Stewart best as Joe Fox, somehow representing everything bad with Starbucks-era New York while at the same time making the viewer fall under his charm.

The core of the film’s humor comes from this ironic relationship where the viewer knows that the antagonist is also the love interest. But the film doesn’t sell out to Big Book. Tom Hanks is Tom Hanks, but without his character’s obvious love and affection for Meg Ryan, he would remain an antagonist, despite being played by Tom Hanks. The heart of “You’ve Got Mail” truly lies in Meg Ryan’s endless charm, which is perfectly paired with Ephron’s humor and style.

Ephron films contain all the best parts of the holiday season within them. From Billy Crystal’s chunky knit sweaters in “When Harry Met Sally” to Meg Ryan driving home singing Christmas carols to herself in “Sleepless in Seattle,” Ephron has a knack for creating cinematic moments around Christmas.

Even beyond Christmas scenes, Ephron's sense of humor and portrayals of romance create a general warmth that perfectly fits the holidays. “You’ve Got Mail” tackles the themes of finding true love, pursuing what you love to do and discovering your true self in typical Ephron fashion, making comments that are both wry and earnest at once.

Visually, the film also presents an image of New York City in the colder months that’s so sparkling it could be served in glassware at a holiday party. The opening sequence, set to The Cranberries’ song “Dreams,” sets the viewer squarely in Kathleen and Nora’s optimistic shared view of New York. I’ve never been there and I’m sure the real version is much less glowing than Ephron's, but for me, there’s nothing more Christmassy than fictional New York City.

I love many Christmas movies. I will defend “Love Actually” unironically as a great film and I think Emma Thompson’s scene crying in her bedroom to Joni Mitchell created cinema. Films like “While You Were Sleeping,” “Carol” and “Metropolitan,” concentrate their non-holiday stories around Christmas, making perfect seasonal watches.

But “You’ve Got Mail” brings the combination of love and capitalism year-round. After all, what’s more Christmas than falling in love with capitalism itself?

by Cornelia Laing, guest columnist

There are many great Christmas movies: "It’s A Wonderful Life," "Home Alone," "Gremlins," but the greatest Christmas film is in fact Todd Haynes’ "Carol."

I think what contributes to what anyone thinks is the greatest Christmas movie is our own connection to the films. I vividly remember watching "Home Alone" growing up. My mum and I watch "White Christmas" every Christmas Eve. For the past five years, every holiday season we go to the Drafthouse’s showing of "Die Hard," which includes flames at the front of the theater when an explosion happens.

With "Carol," I remember seeing it in a small theater at River Oaks on Dec. 27, 2015. I remember it being two days after Christmas as we wanted to see "The Hateful Eight" on Christmas, and the day after Christmas, traffic was too hectic.

The lights were all still up around the neighborhood when we went to the theater. The feeling of Christmas is what I entered the theater with and still connect to the film; this feeling was cemented by its emotional energy.

When thinking about what the best Christmas movie is, a lot of different types of Christmas films come to mind. What is defined as a Christmas movie has evolved from films that are set on Christmas to those set simply around the holiday season and films where Tim Allen kills Santa.

The film follows a young woman, Therese Belivet, as she works at a department store during the holiday season in the early 1950s. The film, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel “The Price of Salt,” focuses on Therese as she begins to discover her sexuality through a relationship she has with an older woman, Carol Aird.

Setting the film during Christmas is not the only aspect that contributes to making this a great Christmas film. It goes beyond Christmastime as a setting and focuses on the atmosphere and feeling of the holiday season.

The first time Therese and Carol meet, the standout moment is when Carol compliments Therese’s hat. “I like the hat,” directed towards Therese's red Santa hat. When they embark out to the country to Carol’s house, they stop for a Christmas tree. As Carol purchases a tree and snow descends, Therese starts to take pictures of Carol. The winter air and female gaze infuse each other with a romantic and warm emotional feeling.

The music throughout the film is melancholic and deep with the more up-beat sounds coming from Christmas music such as Dean Martin’s “Silver Bells.” The song plays as the pair head out on a cross-country road trip that will result in both the climax and consequences of their relationship.

The wintery air and holiday atmosphere are embedded in the film; this happens through notes of the holiday spirit and how mood is contrasted through music and cinematography. The setting and iconography of Christmas is important, but films that make an impact are able to say more.

"Love Actually" commented on the importance of relationships and love. "National Lampoon: Christmas Vacation" managed to highlight the importance of family. "Die Hard" just happens to be really awesome. "Carol" is a perfect Christmas movie because it elevates the emotional highs of the holiday season with the melancholy that can come over you during and after.

I think "Carol" is the best Christmas film because it manages to combine the feeling and warmth of Christmas movies while also telling its own narrative. It may not be a feel good film, but it does end on an optimistic note.

The emotions manage to sway from sadness to happiness to optimism to melancholy. It brings out the clashing nature of the holidays but never forgets the warmth and love that make Christmas and the holiday season a magical time.

Trinitonian

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Point/Counterpoint: The best holiday movies