A Christmas Carol has become so ubiquitous that it’s almost impossible to do a new take on it. There seems to be no shortage of listings on IMDb, including the Muppet version and a Disney video game. Everyone knows who Ebenezer Scrooge is. Everyone could tell you why there are three ghosts. So, how do you do something that’s new? One way is to do the story behind the story.
The movie is based on Les Standiford’s book detailing the months before the publication of the now-famous story. Christmas wasn’t what it is now. Dickens’s publisher is reluctant to publish a book about a minor holiday, especially considering that he’s had three flops since Oliver Twist. Dickens is intent on writing this book, even if it means self-publishing. The fact that he hasn’t written a word yet doesn’t seem to deter him; he kind of needs the money.
As you might expect, he has all sorts of distractions. His house seems to be in a state of renovation, despite the lack of funds. He has a wife, four children and several servants, all of whom require some degree of attention. On top of that, his parents decide to drop by, despite the fact that Dickens doesn’t really want them there. Not only does he have an entire book to write, he also has to get his book printed. What’s an author to do?
Since the story became famous, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that the book does get published. I don’t know that the rest of the movie is known by as many people. It goes into Dickens’s childhood and why he doesn’t get along with his parents, particularly his father.
To an extent, we also get to see what went on as to the inspiration for the book. I’m sure a bit of it is fictionalized. I’ve seen that Dickens did ‘talk’ to his characters, as shown in the movie, but movies do occasionally take liberties with certain facts. (For instance, to what extent did Dickens ’invent’ Christmas?) Truth can sometimes be mundane. I don’t necessarily mind. It’s just one of those things I always wonder about.
This isn’t a movie I’d have seen on my own. Having a Christmas-themed movie out for Christmas is just a little cliché. Having a movie about a Christmas-themed book out just in time for Christmas and releasing it just before Christmas is a bit much. I will say that it did entertain. It’s probably not a movie for the kids. There are scenes of mild violence and there are a few scenes that might be overly scary. I think mostly, it will be the kind of movie that children would feel that they’ve been dragged to. This is more a movie for the adults.
The movie is based on Les Standiford’s book detailing the months before the publication of the now-famous story. Christmas wasn’t what it is now. Dickens’s publisher is reluctant to publish a book about a minor holiday, especially considering that he’s had three flops since Oliver Twist. Dickens is intent on writing this book, even if it means self-publishing. The fact that he hasn’t written a word yet doesn’t seem to deter him; he kind of needs the money.
As you might expect, he has all sorts of distractions. His house seems to be in a state of renovation, despite the lack of funds. He has a wife, four children and several servants, all of whom require some degree of attention. On top of that, his parents decide to drop by, despite the fact that Dickens doesn’t really want them there. Not only does he have an entire book to write, he also has to get his book printed. What’s an author to do?
Since the story became famous, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that the book does get published. I don’t know that the rest of the movie is known by as many people. It goes into Dickens’s childhood and why he doesn’t get along with his parents, particularly his father.
To an extent, we also get to see what went on as to the inspiration for the book. I’m sure a bit of it is fictionalized. I’ve seen that Dickens did ‘talk’ to his characters, as shown in the movie, but movies do occasionally take liberties with certain facts. (For instance, to what extent did Dickens ’invent’ Christmas?) Truth can sometimes be mundane. I don’t necessarily mind. It’s just one of those things I always wonder about.
This isn’t a movie I’d have seen on my own. Having a Christmas-themed movie out for Christmas is just a little cliché. Having a movie about a Christmas-themed book out just in time for Christmas and releasing it just before Christmas is a bit much. I will say that it did entertain. It’s probably not a movie for the kids. There are scenes of mild violence and there are a few scenes that might be overly scary. I think mostly, it will be the kind of movie that children would feel that they’ve been dragged to. This is more a movie for the adults.
No comments :
Post a Comment