Okay, my title might be a little corny, but if you know me you know I can be a little corny at times. As the title states, this post will be a brief review of the recently released film, "The Man Who Invented Christmas", starring Dan Stevens and Christopher Plummer. I'll start off by saying I'm probably a little biased towards this film; ever since I read "A Christmas Carol" in January 2010, I've been in love with the story itself. The 2009 Jim Carrey version only fueled my newfound love. I grew up watching the George C. Scott version every year (one of my dad's favorites!), and even though it takes some liberties I don't care for, I've come to love it along with the animated version. I read the book each year on Christmas Eve (yes, it CAN be done! There's only 5 chapters!), though sometimes I save chapter 5 for Christmas Day.
So you can imagine that I was rather intrigued when I heard about a biopic about its author Charles Dickens. I didn't hear about it until fairly recently, and while I was home for Thanksgiving this week I showed my parents the trailer. My dad is like me, he enjoys "A Christmas Carol" and was looking forward to seeing the film also. So we came to the conclusion that after our Black Friday shopping we needed to see this film. I'm so glad we did! I only know some about Dickens' life and his inspiration for writing the book. Focus on the Family published a great biography in the front of "A Christmas Carol" that I read in 2010-another great part of this version is it includes footnotes which explain and de-Victorianize some phrases/context mentioned in the text, making it more understandable and relatable. But I digress. My dad, after seeing the trailer, downloaded the book "The Man Who Invented Christmas" which is what this film is based off of. I ordered it from Barnes and Noble just today and I'm looking forward to reading the book!
Back to the film itself: I've been skeptical about Dan Stevens ever since he left Downton Abbey. Okay, I know: he's an actor and felt like he needed to do something else after 3 seasons. I get it. I've gotten over it...I guess. Matthew was and is still one of my favorite characters from the show. I've only seen him in 3 things outside of DA: Night at the Museum 3 (which was awful all around), Beauty and the Beast (um, just no?), and this film. Out of the 3, this has been his best non DA performance so far for me. The comedy, depth of emotion, and light heartedness that he approached this role with is, well...charming! I couldn't help but fall in love with Dickens throughout the film (the fact that Stevens is easy on the eyes probably helped with this). I just thoroughly enjoyed Dan's portrayal of Dickens, whether it was accurate to him or not. Christopher Plummer as Scrooge also did not disappoint-am I the only one who wishes we could get A Christmas Carol movie with him as Scrooge? While I'm fairly certain that they took some license with Dickens' life, and possibly even downplayed some of the hardships he faced personally, I think you walk away from this film with the same feeling after watching A Christmas Carol-your spirits are lifted (no pun intended) and you leave feeling hopeful. The supporting cast for this film were delightful as well. Whether accurate or not, you could see how these different characters and elements inspired Dickens as he wrote "A Christmas Carol" in 6 weeks.
If you're looking to take your young kids to see it: it's not going to pique their interest. There's a lot of talking, story formation, etc. that will likely bore them to tears. This would be great for older kids (12+) who can appreciate the humor and the heart behind the film. Regardless, it's an enjoyable family friendly film that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. According to my dad, he would have been lost without having read the source material first; it would be a good idea to read "The Man Who Invented Christmas" in addition to "A Christmas Carol" (they obviously reference dialogue, scenes, and elements!), but certainly go see it even if you haven't read either.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars (MPAA rating is PG)
