Movie Title: The Man Who Invented Christmas
Grade: A-
Rating: PG, 104 minutes
In a Nutshell: I admit
it. I loved this movie, because I'm an author.
I have a particular fondness for movies that peel back the curtains on the life of a successful author and reveal the painful writing process, including writer’s block, muses, and taking notes of people’s names (I do all that too.) In this case, Charles Dickens is the author and the book that he struggles to write in less than 6 weeks is the famous, beloved A Christmas Carol: Original illustrations by John Leech.
I love that he was inspired by life around him. Charles Dickens’ father warns, “We must not disturb the poet when the divine frenzy is upon him.” True THAT! When I’m writing and “in the zone”, it makes me crazy when I get interrupted, so I got a kick out of watching Charles Dickens deal with the constant knocking at his door.
I have a particular fondness for movies that peel back the curtains on the life of a successful author and reveal the painful writing process, including writer’s block, muses, and taking notes of people’s names (I do all that too.) In this case, Charles Dickens is the author and the book that he struggles to write in less than 6 weeks is the famous, beloved A Christmas Carol: Original illustrations by John Leech.
I love that he was inspired by life around him. Charles Dickens’ father warns, “We must not disturb the poet when the divine frenzy is upon him.” True THAT! When I’m writing and “in the zone”, it makes me crazy when I get interrupted, so I got a kick out of watching Charles Dickens deal with the constant knocking at his door.
Based on the book, this family friendly film is perfect for
almost all ages and will leave you with the desire to do something kind for
someone this Christmas season. In fact,
after A Christmas Carol: Original illustrations by John Leech was released in 1843, charitable giving immediately surged. I hope this movie gets the same reaction.
Uplifting theme:
- “No
one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.” –
- “Christmas…the
hope that our better natures will prevail.” - John
- Are you
fettered by chains that you have made in life? Jacob asked, “Do you know the link of
the chain you bear yourself?”
- Poor vs. rich
Things I liked:
- Dan
Stevens and those blue eyes! If you
wanted to see more of him since you first discovered him in Beauty and the Beast (2017) (Theatrical Version), you’ll love watching him star in this movie as Charles Dickens.
- Christopher
Plummer was perfect as Ebenezer Scrooge.
- The
set pieces, furniture, and costume designs are really great. I loved the details like the oil lamps
for street lights. Speaking of
sets, some of the pieces from the TV series Penny Dreadful: Season One were used to
make this film. Despite the fact
that you really feel like you’re in 19th Century London, most
of the filming was done in Ireland.
- Some well-placed
humor.
- The
audience laughed when Charles Dickens’ publisher said, “There’s not much
of a market for Christmas.”
- While
A Christmas Carol addresses the spirit of Christmas more than particular
Christian beliefs, Charles Dickens’ book The Life of Our Lord: Written for His Children During the Years 1846 to 1849 where he bears testimony of the Savior of the world and shares his Christian beliefs.
- We don’t
often see PG live action movies, so this was refreshing to see playing in
theaters.
- I love
how the characters in Charles’ books come to life for him and through him
and are a part of the cast in the film.
In fact, Charles explains, “Get the name right and the character
will appear.” I write non-fiction
and have always been fascinated with how the writing process works for
fiction authors who create characters and worlds.
- There
are several references to Shakespeare and, in fact, most of the cast in
the film are trained Shakespearean actors.
In real life, Charles Dickens adored “The Bard” and acted in some
of his plays. Many of them had also
previously worked on other adaptations of A Christmas Carol.
Things I didn’t like:
- It’s a
little slow moving.
- Neither
the title of the movie nor the original book are properly explained during the
movie.
- Some
of the flashbacks were shown at odd times and might be a bit confusing for
children.
- While
a biopic of sorts, some of the story is fiction. We honestly don’t know as much about
Charles Dickens’ writing process as we would like to!
Interesting quotes:
- “Debt
is an ogre. If you’re not careful,
it can eat you up.” – Charles Dickens
- “People will believe anything if you’re finely dressed.” – John Dickens (Jonathan Pryce)
Funny lines:
- “I’m
the author here!” – Charles Dickens
Tips for
parents:
- If your kids have never heard or read Charles Dickens’
A Christmas Carol, then you’ll want them to become familiar with it
first.
- Kids will be surprised to learn that Christmas wasn’t
always so commercial as it is now.
- Kids also won’t know about “debtors’ prison” in England, where people were sent when they couldn't pay their bills. That always seemed strange to me, because there would be no possibly way for them to earn the money they owed while in prison!
- Work houses in England are also mentioned several times. Poor and destitute people were encouraged to go to work houses to live and earn money. The conditions and stigma were so terrible that people would rather die than go there.
- I heard profanity twice. One of those times was the
British swear word “bloody.”
- Some
words your kids may not know are “nappies” (British word for “diaper”) and
“necromancer” (conjurer).
@trinaboice
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