Review Summary: Lively author story hits almost all of the right beats, with an arguably old-fashioned sensibility.
We have gotten our share of authors (behind some of the best literary works) getting their stories told on the big screen. In fact, just a couple of months ago, audiences got to see A.A. Milne's story come to life with the very good Goodbye Christopher Robin. That movie teetered the balance between light-hearted childlike memories with some truly melancholy and heartbreaking moments. It wasn't an easy film to watch at times, but it was powerful and interesting just the same.
Perhaps even more lively and downright enjoyable than that film, The Man Who Invented Christmas takes more seriously the plot of A Christmas Carol into its' own story. Screenwriter Susan Coyne often interweaves clever comparisons between Dickens' story and the plot points of his classic novel. It often makes for strong emotional depth and relatable messages/lessons that Dickens needs to learn himself. While Milne wrote Winnie the Pooh as escapism from his trialed past, A Christmas Carol's story and major plot points are directly influenced from events and personal struggles in Charles Dickens' life.
Speaking of Dickens, he is brought to life so very well by Dan Stevens (some may remember him playing the Beast in earlier this year's Beauty and the Beast remake). He's unmistakably theatrical, but also very convincingly shows the darker sides of the author's character. In the meantime, the legendary Christopher Plummer (who's had a busy year) is a perfect choice for Scrooge. He provides the gruffness and slight intimidation we should all expect from the character. Other highlights in the cast include a lively Jonathan Pryce as Dickens' father, Justin Edwards as both the Ghost of Christmas Present and Dickens' friend Mr. Forster, and Anna Murphy, who plays the nanny of Dickens' children and the Ghost of Christmas Past.
The overall environment of the movie itself is so cozy and so irresistibly old-fashioned you can't help but become immersed in the old-fashioned Christmas feel. With the exception of some glaringly obvious green-screen distance effects, the overall production design is terrific. This is also a very well-paced movie. There are no long, boring or dull stretches. The film keeps us emotionally-invested without slowing down or going off on a real tangent. Some of the visual effects also work very well, without overwhelming the overall film.
There are very few issues I can think of. I did find the backstory of Dickens' father and what caused him to abandon his son to be a little underdeveloped. Perhaps an extra scene explaining what his father did exactly might have made it a little easier to understand. Also, over time, we see Dickens spend his "alone" time with his own characters from the book he's writing (projections of his own imagination, if you will). But besides Scrooge, there is a lack of purpose behind other characters being present in the "writing" scenes. Fezziwigs and a bread-seller, for example, aren't necessary in helping Dickens find the ending he's looking for. Maybe they were an attempt to be comic relief? The film is never really sure.
Like A Christmas Carol, The Man Who Invented Christmas is a cautionary tale against the evils of selfishness and insensitivity. And like the main character in his book, Dickens comes face to face with his own demons and flaws. And it takes no short of three ghosts and a dose of humility to help him find his way to a better place in life.
It's this clever balance between both stories, a gripping central story, and such a lively, whimsical feel that make The Man Who Invented Christmas such a delight. Not only is it a very good Christmas movie, it's a terrific biopic and one of the most enjoyable films of the year.
Score: 9.0/10
Content Concerns for Family Viewing: The Man Who Invented Christmas is rated PG for "thematic elements and some mild language." Thankfully, the content concerns here are fairly minimal. The language present involves a half-dozen uses of the British profanity "bloody", and one (out-of-place) use of "a--". The movie does discuss and somewhat realistically portray child labor (and bullying), which may be unsettling for some younger viewers (as will the idea of Charles losing his family to arrest at a young age). One bar scene shows Dickens and Foster getting drunk (we don't see them consume alcohol, we only see the after-effects).
As what many expect, ghosts and spirits do play a part in this tale (a brief scene involving the maid Tara telling kids a story about "spirits" is one noteworthy moment). However, there are a couple of purposes behind this that are worth noting. One, these characters are central to A Christmas Carol and meant only to help Scrooge learn a lesson (without any real occultic reasoning behind their existence). Secondly, the mentions of such are all meant to help Dickens craft his story in the first place.
