Part Two: Rhiannon Fish and Clayton James Make the Romance Work
The heart of The Christmas Retreat depends heavily on the connection between Rhiannon Fish and Clayton James, and the pairing gives the film much of its warmth.
Fish brings Kim through several emotional stages without making her transformation feel instantaneous. At the beginning, Kim can be difficult and overly focused, but that imperfection is important. A character who already has everything figured out would have nowhere meaningful to go.
Instead, Fish gets to play someone gradually realizing that success does not mean much if there is nobody to share life with.
Rhiannon Fish also has a long history with television audiences. She began acting as a child on Australia’s Neighbours and later became known for her role as April Scott on Home and Away. International viewers may also recognize her from The 100. Her later work included several Hallmark productions, including Remembering Love, You’re Bacon Me Crazy, When Love Springs, and A Picture of Her. Hallmark has also noted that The Christmas Retreat was among UPtv’s most-streamed films of 2022.
That background helps explain why Fish fits so naturally into holiday romance. She can play the polished, ambitious side of Kim while still allowing the character’s softer and more vulnerable qualities to emerge.
Clayton James provides the other half of the equation as Mark. His character is interesting because he is not simply the calm, endlessly patient counterpart to Kim. He has his own frustrations and insecurities, and his similarities with Kim create as much friction as attraction.
That gives their relationship a playful quality.
Rather than presenting romance as two completely different people magically completing each other, the film suggests that sometimes love comes from meeting someone who understands your flaws because they recognize those same flaws in themselves.
There is something particularly appealing about watching two characters who are both accustomed to being busy discover the value of simply being present.
The chemistry also benefits from the movie’s comedic side. Holiday romances work best when the leads can move comfortably between playful disagreement and genuine tenderness. Kim and Mark’s relationship has room for both. Their early clashes make their later connection more meaningful because the audience gets to watch their assumptions about one another change.
And that is an important part of what makes the romance memorable.
The film does not need grand declarations every few minutes. Instead, it allows affection to grow through shared experiences, conversations, disagreements, and the gradual realization that the person standing across from you may understand you better than you expected.
That emotional progression is familiar, but familiarity is not necessarily a weakness in Christmas movies. In fact, it is often exactly what viewers are looking for.
