If Paul Kelly's song How To Make Gravy makes you emotional, you're going to love the film.

A new Australian movie is simply begging to be watched on Christmas Day, or more appropriately, on December 21 (aka Gravy Day).

How To Make Gravy will be streaming on Binge from December 1, and is a film adaptation of Paul Kelly's beloved 1996 Christmas song.

The story follows a newly imprisoned father, Joe (played by Daniel Henshall), as his family prepares for their first Christmas without him.

The film features an all-star cast of huge Australian icons including Hugo Weaving, Brenton Thwaites, Damon Herriman and Kate Mulvany.

The movie expands on Kelly's narrative-rich tune, which was originally written for a Salvation Army Christmas compilation.

The creative team at the wheel are married duo, musician Meg Washington and her husband, director Nick Waterman.

As Binge's first original film, this movie brings new life to a cherished Australian Christmas classic.

Watch the trailer for the film. Post continues after video.

Mamamia sat down with the stars of How To Make Gravy to ask them about their earliest memories of the Paul Kelly song.

"I think I heard it when I saw it on Rage," Hugo Weaving recalled.

"I loved it straight away. I realised after some years, it was a song that was played at a certain time of year, it is about Christmas and is about family. It was a slow burn over many years."

For Daniel Henshall, the tune took on a higher significance once he moved to US to star in projects like Okja and Defending Jacob.

"It wasn't until I started travelling overseas and coming home that it started to really resonate with me, particularly this song," he said.

"The people in the song reminded me of people within my gaze as a kid, it reminded me of my childhood. It had that nostalgic feeling of being at home. It always made me think of Christmas and how I missed that feeling of being between the pool and the roast and lying on the couch with the smell of sunscreen."

The decision to sign on to the film was an easy one for Weaving, who remains one of Australia's most successful acting exports, with starring roles in franchises like Lord of the Rings and The Matrix.

Hugo Weaving plays Noel in the family film. Image: Supplied.

"I heard they were making a film about 'How To Make Gravy' [the song] and I thought, 'What a great idea.' And then quite soon after I heard about that, I got a call from my agent, saying they wanted to offer me a role," Weaving admitted.

"The script was beautifully written by Megan and Nick, and the characters were just a wonderful creation. It was very easy to get involved and say 'Yes', as I was absolutely thrilled by the idea of the film and the way it was put together."

Teen heartthrob, Brenton Thwaites, is known for huge films like Gods of Egypt and HBO Max series Titans, and he admitted, he was hesistant at first when he read about his character.

"I read the script and my character was 40. Yeah, right! There's just no way I was playing 40. I'll probably never play 40," he joked.

If you were wondering, Thwaites is 35 years old, but I did tell him he had a 'baby face' which he thanked me for.

Thankfully, the actor changed his tune. "I got given the script. I wanted to meet Nick and Meg," Thwaites continued.

The actor had an immediate emotional response to the material.

"I read it in the car on the drive from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, my wife was driving and my kids screaming in the back. I'm reading this script crying in the front seat on the way to the meeting," he told me.

"They're at the café [Nick and Meg], and I'm just bawling my eyes out and I'm finishing the script. And then I walk into the meeting, and they're like, 'Are you okay?' I'm like, 'I'm not okay. I'm not okay. Your script just destroyed me'," he joked.

The film features some emotional moments between Joe and Noel. Image: Supplied.

The movie is a touching tribute not just to this time of year, which can be an isolating season for some, but to what it's like celebrating Christmas in Australia, especially for lower-income communities.

If I had to compare the movie to anything, I'd say it has a similar feeling to Boy Swallows Universe on Netflix, but less surrealist with its feet landing firmly on the ground.

At its most effective, the movie is an unflinching lens on how men struggle to manage their emotions, and lack mentors to help them open up.

In the film, Weaving portrays Noel, the prison cook who (you guessed) has a damn good gravy recipe. But it's his work with the other men in jail as a counselor that is a beautiful change of pace for other crime-based films.

Weaving said that he took lessons from Noel, who plays a "sort of Santa Claus figure" in the film, Weaving adds.

"The problem with a lot of men in prison is that they might have anger management problems. They might be very impulsive," he said.

"[They need] to learn to see a broader picture, to learn not to just repeat the same toxic masculine mistakes that you might have done in the past, and to think about another side of your masculinity, which is to do with allowing yourself to say, 'I'm sorry', allowing yourself to say, 'I messed up' and allowing yourself to love," he continued.

"Men are taught to be capable of doing everything, and we have to pretend that we can do everything. It's like that's part of what it is to be a man: you're brought up to not show too many emotions, to be in control and to have the answer to everything. It's such an incredibly impossible construct and it's very damaging."

Joe goes through an emotional journey in prison. Image: Supplied.

The creation of a community for these men in the prison is something that struck Henshall, too.

"If you haven't got the support and community, it's so isolating, and that often means internalising and suppressing," Dan said.

"Of course, suppressing anything is going to explode at some point in a destructive manner, whether personally or externally, upon people. This film is all about forgiving people who make mistakes and owning the mistakes through the love of family and community."

Along with showing a more vulnerable side to men in prison, who are typically portrayed as stereotypical tough guys in lesser films, this movie feels unique to the Australian experience, especially for those doing it tough in the current economic climate.

Weaving said that despite his growing resume, he can't help but come back to portraying Australian stories.

"I live here, and I primarily work here, and I've always prioritised work here. I never feel like I'm coming back. I feel like I occasionally go away, but I've never lived in Hollywood. I can't stand the place," he said.

"We live in a globalised world, but actually, all our stories are specific. We have a specific and particular identity and that's who I am, and this is who we are. I want to work here, live here and make stories that come out of this country."

With an incredible cast and an Australian anthem brought to life for the first time, How To Make Gravy is sure to be the perfect film to pop on as we enter the silly season.

"It's about family and it's about love. It's a very accessible film that will be embraced by a lot of people," Weaving added.

"I'm sure it will be celebrated hopefully every Christmas in this country from now on."

How To Make Gravy is streaming on Binge from December 1, 2024.

Feature image: Binge/Supplied.