With the likes of Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral (MIFF 1997) to his credit, the name Abel Ferrara doesn't exactly lend itself to notions of Yuletide cheer So it isn't really surprising that, while his latest film begins with a doting New York dad videotaping his daughters school Christmas pageant, it isnt long before we see he and his wife busy at work running their friendly neighbourhood heroin-trafficking business.

Set during David Dinkins' not-so-stellar term as the city's mayor, the film effectively gives both sets of activities the same matter-of-fact treatment as it quietly builds an intriguing tension."—The Hollywood Reporter. Official Selection, Cannes 2001. Un- Certain Regard.

"Shot and edited in a sharp, refreshingly unfussy style, the drama is lean and focused...Abel Ferrara entertains his fascination with the New York drug underworld, this time as the flipside to the seemingly respectable family life, in R-Xmas."— Variety.