The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), Starring Christopher Plummer: Review by William Mortensen Vaughan

Title:  The Man Who Invented Christmas 

Adaptation:  Starring Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens

Dates and Places of Earliest Release:  

FRI, 10 NOV 2017 Ireland

WED, 22 NOV 2017 U.S.A.

My Rating:  *****

Format Reviewed:  live-action film, on DVD and BluRay

 

Runtime:  104 minutes

 

Availability:  As of February 6, 2021, copies of this film are available on DVD and BluRay, for approximately $15 U.S. Dollars

Is this adaptation reverent?  Yes.

Does this adaptation mention "God" or "Christ"?

Yes. (See below.)

 

Does this adaptation include the phrase "God bless us...?" 

Yes, Charles Dickens' father says it right before he's arrested and taken to debtors' prison. One of the children also says it, near the end of this film.

What does my wife think of this adaptation?
She watched it once, with me, in the theater, and she liked it well enough to watch it with me again, at home, on BluRay.  

Where and when does this adaptation take place?

Although this adaptation begins with Charles Dickens' first trip to the U.S.A. in 1842, most of the action takes place in London, between October, 1843, when Charles Dickens was writing A Christmas Carol, and December, 1843, when it was published.

 
What language and/or dialects are used?  

British English

How closely does this adaptation follow the original novel, by Charles Dickens?

Not very closely! This adaptation is framed within a biographical yet fanciful dramatization of Charles Dickens' life in the months leading up to his publication of A Christmas Carol. However, characters from the novel are portrayed by actors such as Christopher Plummer, well enough to serve as a cinematic adaptation of the novel.

Is this adaptation a prequel or a sequel?  No.

Is this adaptation supernatural? 

Yes, this adaptation is supernatural, featuring ghosts and imaginary characters who appear to Charles Dickens.

Is this adaptation "framed"?  

Yes. (See above.)

Is this adaptation a musical?  No.

 

What songs and/or dances are included?  

(Music by Mychael Danna... There is a little singing and dancing to inspire Dickens to write the scene about Fezziwig's Ball, but music isn't a major part of this film.

How attractive and effective is the visual art?  

The set, wardrobe, architecture, and art are good, and seem very representative of Charles Dickens' London.

How creative and intense are the transitions, especially when "the Scrooge" is taken from one time and/or place to another?

The transitions are well executed/edited; they are usually sharp cuts, but they are very effective, and seem seamless.

 

What aerial and/or nap-of-the-earth footage is included? N/A  

 

What use is made of background extras?  

Effective use is made of background extras, especially in the streets of London, as well as in a theatre in the U.S.A.

What is the most remarkable thing about this adaptation?
The most remarkable thing about this adaptation is that it's framed in a biographical dramatization of Charles Dickens' struggle to write A Christmas Carol, as he receives inspirations from various mundane sources, such as stories his maid reads to herself, and others she tells his children, and chance meetings with a waiter at a restaurant, or a funeral at a cemetery. It also shows how Dickens' imagination might have brought his characters to life, as they are brought to life by the actors who play dual roles of people in Dickens' life as well as his literary characters, such as Ebenezer Scrooge.

 
What extras are included on the tape or DVD?

This DVD and BluRay set come in one, double jewel case. They both include a featurette titled "The Story Behind The Man Who Invented Christmas."

Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

 

Review by William Mortensen Vaughan