THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS – Rated PG – 1 hr 44 mins
Starring Christopher Plummer, Dan Stevens, Jonathan Pryce, Justin Edwards, Donald Sumpter and Mordydd Clark
Based on the book by Les Standiford and brought to the big screen by Director Bharat Nalluri, we enter the very enchanted, yet real-life tale of storyteller extraordinaire, Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens), who has apparently hit severe writers block since traveling the world promoting his creative genius, OLIVER TWIST.
In dire financial straits, even with all the monies he accrued through his latest bestseller, it seems that Charles and his friend and comrade John Forster (Justin Edwards), are grasping at straws for ways to keep the banks at bay…until Charles gets inspired to pen his next masterpiece!
When the creative juices finally start flowing, Charles decides to not only get to writing, but has promised his investors that he will write a tale about Christmas within 6 weeks. Seeing his characters come to life before his very eyes, Charles develops characters throughout his book – Ebenezer Scrooge(Christopher Plummer), Marley, even Tiny Tim, from people he actually knows throughout this community, and family too.
As Charles struggles to create his next masterpiece for delivery before he insists no one must disturb his creative juices, not even his children, or his very patient and accepting wife Kate (Mordydd Clark).
With time a ticking, and his characters not always cooperating in his head, Dickens finds that telling his masterful ghostly tale explaining the struggle between prosperity and poverty…and the importance of living in the spirit of Christmas every day…has to be completed as promised, before he, and his entire family find themselves destined for the poor house themselves…
I give THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS a rating of WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD OR NETFLIX: Having loved this tale of Christmas’s past, present and future for years, I was hoping to really enjoy this real-life tale of how Charles Dickens produced one of the most widely known Christmas stories of the 20th century – and in only 6 weeks. But sadly, I was disappointed by what ended up being portrayed on the big screen. Stevens is good as the charismatic, and creatively crazy Charles Dickens. And Plummer is good as well, playing the vial, humbugish miser himself, Ebenezer Scrooge. And the rest of this cast is slightly better than average too in their respective roles. So why the less than perfect review??? Because I found myself less than enchanted with this particular film, as at times I wished there was significantly more cohesiveness, and a lot less lunacy going on. I also felt that there were points throughout this film when the premise and storyline began to wane excessively too, as you find yourself waiting for Dickens to come down out of the trees, so he can focus and finish his ultimate masterpiece!!
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 