Noel

Set in New York on Christmas Eve, Noel follows five people whose separate lives become tangled together over the course of the holiday. Rose, a single woman, has spent years caring for her ill mother and has put her own needs aside. Mike, a young police officer, is consumed by jealousy toward his fiancée Nina, whose wish to start a family adds strain to their relationship. Artie, a waiter, keeps seeing the mother he lost in the faces of the customers he serves. Jules, a small-time thief, goes to strange lengths to spend the holiday in a hospital, where he remembers being happy as a child. As the evening goes on, chance meetings draw the strangers toward one another, and the season takes on a different meaning for each of them.

Chazz Palminteri directed the film, his first time behind the camera, working from a screenplay by David Hubbard; Al Corley, Eugene Musso and Bart Rosenblatt produced. Susan Sarandon plays Rose, with Paul Walker as Mike, Penélope Cruz as Nina, Alan Arkin as Artie and Marcus Thomas as Jules, among a credited cast of 63 and crew of 42.

Released in November 2004, the Canadian-American production runs 96 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 4.4 out of 10 from 36 reviews, and on TMDB 5.8 out of 10 from 328 votes. Palminteri's next directorial credit, A Bronx Tale: One Man Show, followed in 2025.