When the holiday season rolls around, the family usually gets together to watch a rom-com or a classic Christmas movie. But for those who want something a little different and want to break away from the usual, betting on Shane Black might be the way to go. Sure, the director and screenwriter isn’t exactly a household name, but if there’s one thing people know about him, it’s his habit of setting his stories during Christmastime. What’s interesting is that his plots have nothing to do with what you’d typically expect from a Christmas movie, like in Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, or even The Nice Guys – which fans have been hoping for a sequel to for years. But he always makes sure to sneak in something about the season.
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One of his most memorable films, and one that many people are familiar with, is Iron Man 3, which shows Tony Stark during this exact period. However, when compared to the first two superhero films, you can see that the third has a more sensitive feel to the narrative – the scene of the character’s anxiety attack is a great example of this. Why is that? It seems like there’s a pretty clear reason for including Christmas as a recurring element in his projects.
Why Does Shane Black Always Set His Stories at Christmas?
It seems that Black’s goal in setting the plot of his films around Christmas is to remind viewers of the true meaning of the season. He uses this setting as a way to help the characters reflect on their lives and attitudes, which makes a lot of sense since; at the end of the year, people naturally tend to rethink their journey over the past twelve months. In a 2013 interview, Black went into more detail on the subject.
“Christmas is fun. It’s unifying, and all your characters are involved in this event that stays within the larger story. It roots it, I think, it grounds everything,” he told Den of Geek. “At Christmas, lonely people are lonelier, seeing friends and families go by. People take reckoning, they stock of where their lives are at Christmas. It just provides a backdrop against which different things can play out, but with one unifying, global heading. I’ve always liked it, especially in thrillers, for some reason. It’s a touch of magic.”
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Going further, he also revealed to Empire in 2022 that the idea is basically to make Christmas a character within the narrative because it makes a difference and is transformative. According to him, the period can be used in different ways.
“It can be used as this unifier, where you see the beauty of a city decked out in Christmas splendor, or you can use it as this bleak landscape against which those same festive decorations seem to belie something else, when the streets are deserted, the wind is blowing, and it feels like you’re the last person on Earth staring in at the happy family having their dinner,” he said.
To be more specific, he made it clear that Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor significantly influenced what is now a tradition in his work. The setting of the film convinced him that, even for a thriller, Christmas is symbolic because of the contrast between the festive atmosphere and the tension of the situation, which adds to the drama. No wonder this is exactly one of the reasons why there are Christmas horror films that have even become classics.
How Has Christmas Influenced Some of Shane Black’s Characters?
As has already been understood, Christmas serves as an extra character. In Lethal Weapon, for example, it influences Martin Riggs primarily in his emotional journey. For the protagonist, Christmas symbolizes his loneliness and depression, as he has lost his wife and feels purposeless. The festive season highlights his pain and the contrast with the hope and unity of families, as well as his search for redemption. The same happens in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, where Harry Lockhart is a lonely man in a new city during Christmas, which represents isolation. Moments of despair and the search for meaning take on a more human dimension.
In The Long Kiss Goodnight, the festive period symbolizes a break in Samantha Caine’s violent life, offering almost a fantasy of normality and happiness. Although there is a moment of reflection – which, by the way, is basically the essence of Christmas movies – the story emphasizes the duality between her identity as a housewife and as a murderer. The final scene, in particular, serves as a stark contrast to the violence displayed throughout the plot, highlighting the tension between her past and the possibility of a different life.
However, it’s not always Black’s idea to involve Christmas. In the case of Iron Man 3, for example, it was almost a requirement from co-screenwriter Drew Pearce, as Black had no intention of putting Tony Stark in this scenario. The movie went on to earn over $1 billion at the global box office, influenced the What If…? series, and even sparked fond memories for fans when Hawkeye was released in 2021. But the real strength of it lies in the vulnerable moments of the protagonist, who, feeling lost, goes through a process of reconciliation, reflecting on his actions and evolving as a person. The spirit of Christmas offers emotional relief, also leading to a holiday miracle when his friend Happy wakes up from a coma.
So, in the end, why not try something different this year and spend the holiday watching a Shane Black film instead of the usual classics?
