After the Nativity, Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” may be the most beloved yuletide tale there is, and with good reason.
A story about a sinner changing his ways by discovering the true meaning of Christmas could easily become too preachy or saccharine. But after nearly 200 years, “A Christmas Carol” still sings. So it’s no wonder that Hollywood has once again returned to the story with a live-action adaptation of the novella. The film “Ebenezer,” directed by Ti West, is largely true to the original text and makes good use of modern-day special effects to bring the ghost story to life.
The movie opens on a wintry Christmas eve in Victorian-era London. Jacob Marley, played by Ian McKellen, isn’t yet as dead as a doornail, and viewers get the chance to see the friendship between him and his equally miserly business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge. The titular Ebenezer is played by Johnny Depp, a longtime master at creating colorful characters. Rather than a stern, foreboding Scrooge, Depp’s Scrooge has a comically grumpy quality to him, especially while battling spirits in a nightgown. The other actors do justice to their familiar roles but the only other standout (among the living) is the adorable Tiny Tim, played by Freddie Lee-Grey.
Exactly seven years after Marley’s sudden Christmas Eve death, Scrooge is toiling away in his cold, dark office with his beleaguered clerk Bob Cratchit, played by Rupert Grint, Harry Potter’s Ron. Scrooge’s antipathy toward charity and the great humbug of Christmas are shown when he rejects both alms collectors and an invitation to Christmas dinner from his nephew Fred, played by Sam Claflin. Ebenezer trudges home in the snow, ignoring eerie visions of Marley’s face in the door knocker, and settles down with his pot of gruel.
Most viewers know the rest of the story. Scrooge is visited by some holiday spirits, first Jacob Marley, then a corpse bride-looking Ghost of Christmas Past, played by Andrea Riseborough. Scrooge’s sad history is revealed, from his troubled childhood to the loss of his fiancee, Belle, who receives a fuller backstory than in the book. The film also adds in instances of the poor or those who aid them acting unscrupulously, which makes Scrooge’s conduct toward them more understandable, but also seems to unnecessarily malign the needy.
After a tour through his past, Scrooge is whisked into the world of the Ghost of Christmas Present, played by a commanding Tramell Tillman, Seth Milchick in Severance. Christmas Present’s slow deterioration over the course of the evening is one of the creepier elements of this scary story. By the time the Ghost of Christmas Future arrives, Scrooge is well on his way to becoming a new man. After a ghostly night, the scenes from Christmas morning offer a cheery, welcome contrast. Wrongs will be righted as Tiny Tim squeaks, “God bless us, every one.”
The film is rated PG-13 for frightening material, and is likely best for teens and adults. While not the focus, the film doesn’t avoid Christianity and includes a church service scene, a reference to Christ’s miracles and a beautiful rendition of the classic hymn “Silent Night.” “Ebenezer” leans into the gothic while still keeping the heartwarming moments that make “A Christmas Carol” such an enduring classic.
Maraist is a freelancer from Reston.
