Sally Hawkins and Paul Giamatti in All Is Bright (Anchor Bay Films)

All Is Bright, director Phil Morrison’s second feature, is a long awaited follow up to his stunning debut, Junebug, and marks the feature film debut of playwright and television writer Melissa James Gibson.

Released from a four-year prison stretch for robbery, Dennis (Paul Giamatti) is desperate to be reunited with his young daughter, Michi, (Tatyana Richaud), and girlfriend, Therese (Amy Landecker). After arriving at Therese’s house, he discovers that, unable to deal with Dennis’ criminal lifestyle, she has told Michi that he is dead, and she has taken up with Rene (Paul Rudd), his friend and reformed partner in crime.

Unemployed, penniless, and homeless in the depths of a Quebec winter, Dennis hunts Rene down and guilt trips him into giving him a job. Determined to go straight in the hope of reconciling with Therese, Dennis breaks his parole and heads across the border with Rene to sell Christmas trees in New York for a quick buck.

When Rene reveals he intends to marry Therese after his wife agrees to a divorce, the romantic rivals bicker their way cross country to Rene’s annual spot, a dumpy Brooklyn corner. While sleeping together in a roadside trailer, Dennis overhears Rene’s constant calls from Therese; he can only place collect calls, uncertain whether she will accept them.

With the lights of Manhattan far away, trade is slow, competition is tough and going straight is not paying. Though irresponsible, optimist and lovable idiot Rene is content to wait it out in the cold, Dennis is determined to get Michi the perfect gift by any means. When Olga (Sally Hawkins), a Russian housekeeper to wealthy dentists, buys a tree, an unlikely friendship develops along with the temptation to go back to his old criminal ways. 

With a hangdog expression and a gift for caustic sarcasm, Giamatti delivers a natural performance as the defensive con. Paul Rudd plays an affectionate idiot very well, but a reliance on goofy comedy masks an underdeveloped character. Gifted with some of the best lines, British actress Sally Hawkins shifts the comedic tone into broader territory and stays just the right side of caricature.

There are some nice scenes. Hiding from border guards among the trees in the back of the truck, Dennis pickpockets a border guard only to discover a single condom in the stolen wallet. English-speaking Quebecois Rene tries to drum up business by impersonating a French Canadian speaking English in an original take on ethnic humor, but the potential of the French-Canadian setting and the cultural contrasts are not exploited or explored. After the action moves to the U.S. and a neighborhood where diverse residents are struggling to get by in difficult economic times, the portrayal of New York City feels real and contemporary.

Dennis’ emotional journey is affecting, but the film lacks emotional weight. The central relationship with his younger rival Rene suffers because of Rudd’s shallow characterization. The natural charms of the cast hold the film together, but the plot meanders and the narrative is forced in New York.

All is Bright is a light, sentimental and bittersweet comedy drama that is engaging for the generosity of the characters and the strong cast, but best enjoyed on a cold winter night cozied up at home.