From time to time, there have been instances where we end up getting two different films that have identical premises released over the course of a single year. For example, in 1998, we got two films that were focused on asteroid-based doomsdays, Michael Bay’s Armageddon and Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact. That same year, Pixar and DreamWorks got into a huge feud over their closely similar insect-oriented films, with DreamWorks Animation’s Antz being released just one month prior to the release of Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. This year it seems like this trend has been applied to a pair of films that focus on the genesis of classic literary works. A few months back, there was the historical biopic Goodbye Christopher Robin, which focused on author A.A. Milne and the creation of his iconic book series, Winnie the Pooh. And now, just in time for the holiday season, we have The Man Who Invented Christmas, which delves into the backstory behind arguably the most famous Christmas story of all-time, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Ever since its initial release in 1843, the story of the mean old miser Scrooge and his journey of self-transformation has become a staple of the holiday season; for one thing, it’s been adapted to both the big and small screen numerous times over the years. So with that in mind, what’s so different about this film then? Well, as noted earlier, it mainly delves into the events that led to author Charles Dickens creating this timeless tale, with the film itself being based off a 2008 novel of the same name by author Les Standiford. And under the solid direction of British director Bharat Nalluri, the film ends up being an enjoyable, albeit imperfect, take on this fascinating true story.
In 1843 London, England, author Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) finds himself struggling with a severe case of writer’s block. To make matters worse, his last three books have been critical/commercial flops, thus making his publishers extremely wary about doing further business with him. This begins to put Charles in a serious case of financial debt right around the time when he learns that his wife Kate (Morfydd Clark) is pregnant with their fifth child. Eventually, though, he begins to come up with an idea for a new novel; upon witnessing his new maid Tara (Anna Murphy) recount a tale of ghostly spirits to his children, he begins to craft a story about a miserable miser who’s visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. And, soon enough, he comes up with the name for his story’s cold-hearted main character, Ebenezer Scrooge. It even gets to the point where Scrooge (Christopher Plummer) and the other characters of the novel begin to come to life in Charles’ mind, as he proceeds to interact with them during the writing process. However, Charles soon finds himself under an immense amount of pressure to have the book independently published in just six weeks so that it’ll be out in time for Christmas. The stress of finishing the book even starts to have a negative impact on his relationships with his friends and family, especially when he struggles to figure out the perfect ending for it.
Admittedly, this review is going to be a short one because there’s not really that much to talk about when it comes to this film. Simply put, The Man Who Invented Christmas is a decently entertaining spin on the story of how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. Instead of just being a standard retelling of how Dickens wrote what is arguably his most famous story, we also get to see how his personal life (namely his often troubled relationship with his father John (Jonathan Pryce)) served as a direct influence on Scrooge’s journey of redemption. In the process, the film even ends up doing its own take on A Christmas Carol; sure, we’ve already gotten plenty of takes on this story in the past, but the pairing of it with all the reveals that surround Dickens’ troubled past does, at least, give this version of the story a unique spin to it. Plus, the film is bolstered by a solid pair of performances from leads Dan Stevens and Christopher Plummer. As Dickens, Stevens elicits solid charisma that is effectively paired with the author’s more eccentric qualities, while Plummer excels at handling Scrooge’s classic redemption arc even though he technically isn’t the main character this time around. In short, while it’s far from perfect, The Man Who Invented Christmas is an interesting look into the making of an iconic holiday staple. And while the numerous adaptations of A Christmas Carol that have come before it may ultimately overshadow it in the long run, it’s still worth checking out just to see where it all began.
Rating: 3.5/5
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