A Christmas Gift From Bob review: It’s heart is in the right place

A Christmas Gift From Bob                                                       Cert: 12A, 93mins

Rating:

Saint Frances                                                                                       Cert: 15, 101mins

Rating:

A Place Among The Dead                                                              Cert: 15, 76mins

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A Christmas Gift from Bob is an unexpected seasonal sequel to 2016’s A Street Cat Named Bob and should have been in cinemas now. But it isn’t (at least not in England), so fans of busker, Big Issue vendor and bestseller writer James Bowen and his ginger stray will have to opt for digital download. 

It’s on most platforms now.

Not much has changed since the original, apart from the mildly cheering Christmas plot. Luke Treadaway’s thoroughly downbeat performance as James won’t be for everyone, and the storyline is a touch thin, but its heart is in the right place. 

Cat-lovers should know that the real-life Bob died in June.

Elsewhere, Saint Frances – written by and starring the talented Kelly O’Sullivan – comes to digital download on Friday. It’s a bittersweet, indie-style comedy drama that sees O’Sullivan as Bridget, a woman whose thirty-something life is not turning out as planned. 

So between waitressing and messy one-night stands, she works as a nanny to a precocious six-year-old for an older lesbian couple. The film eventually delivers some powerful and touching moments.

Juliet Landau is the daughter of Martin Landau, who played original Dracula star Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood. So vampires are very much in her blood. She directs, writes and stars in A Place Among The Dead, a mockumentary about their enduring appeal. 

Part stylised documentary – Gary Oldman and Anne Rice are interviewed – part bloody murder mystery, it’s an acquired taste and on Modern Films’ platform from tomorrow.