Actors: Dan Stevens, Christopher
Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Simon
Callow, Donald Sumpter, Miriam Margolyes, Morfydd Clark
Rating: 9 out of 10, I will first
admit that I am an unrepentant lover of all things Christmas related and
therefore have always held Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol as something
approaching holy writ. This film offers a fascinating insight into Dickens’
life as he created this timeless classic. The book’s characters leap from his
imagination to hold conversations with him as he puts together the story of
Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly redemption. It was akin to greeting old friends as
the iconic characters appeared or classic lines were uttered. Dickens had to
balance the emotional baggage of his own youth as the story evolves around his
chaotic present day life. It evolves into a delightful swirl through Victorian
London as the various inspirations for Dickens’ work emerge throughout. Old
stalwarts Jonathan Pryce, as Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer, as
Scrooge, are their usual perfection but the movie truly belongs to Dan Stevens
in the lead role. He’s been so good in everything he’s done – someone to watch
for the future. If you enjoy writing you should see this movie with its proper
respect for this lion of literature but mostly for spirit of Christmas in all
its unabashed sentimentality. If you can’t enjoy that consider yourself a
humbug.
MVP: Stevens as the irrepressible Dickens
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