Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) [Blu-ray]
Biography | Comedy | Drama

Tagline: Based on the magical true story of how Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol".

The Man Who Invented Christmas tells of the magical journey that led to the creation of Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer), Tiny Tim and other classic characters from A Christmas Carol. Directed by Bharat Nalluri (MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY), the film shows how Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) mixed real life inspirations with his vivid imagination to conjure up unforgettable characters and a timeless tale, forever changing the holiday season into the celebration we know today.

Storyline: In 1843, the celebrated British novelist, Charles Dickens, is at a low point in his career with three flops behind him and his family expenses piling up at home. Determined to recover, Dickens decides to write a Christmas story and self-publish it in less than two months. As Dickens labors writing on such short notice, his estranged father and mother come to bunk with him. Still haunted by painful memories of his father ruining his childhood by his financial irresponsibly, Dickens develops a writer's block which seems to have no solution. As such, Dickens must face his personal demons epitomized through his characters, especially in his imagined conversations with Ebenezer Scrooge. Now with a looming deadline, Dickens struggles for inspiration against his frustrations and his characters' opinions in a literary challenge creating a classic tale that would define the essential soul of modern Christmas. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, March 22, 2018 "The story behind the story"-type movies recently seem to be growing in popularity. Consider Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, a film about a love triangle that's a driving force behind the creation of the popular comic book character Wonder Woman. The Man Who Invented Christmas is similarly structured. It's nowhere near as risqué (or at all, really) to be sure, but it does explore the origins -- however authentic, however contrived -- of the beloved Christmastime tale A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the acclaimed 19th century English author who high school students and lovers of literature might know better as the man who wrote novels like Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities. It's an agreeable little film, blending in humor, drama, and an interesting look at a troubled artist whose writings spur him to imagine manifestations of the very characters he is creating who, in a roundabout way, turn the tables on him and force him to see his life from a new perspective, just as the story goes in the book.

Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) has written a sensational bestseller in Oliver Twist. He's a literary star at home in London and abroad as well. But since his greatest success he has penned a trio of flops, and he has writer's block. Nothing is coming to him, and his prospects for rediscovering that same level of success seem ever more hopeless. He's battling personal problems, too -- money troubles, notably -- and his various issues are only exacerbated by his critics and the presence of his father, John (Jonathan Pryce). His situation appears bleak and his prospects dim, but when his agent promises publishers that Charles will have the first chapter of a new book to them soon, his crisis only intensifies. Scared of the writing process and struggling through the process of coming to terms with his dark past, inspiration strikes ("bah, humbug!") and the story that would become A Christmas Carol begins to take shape as its characters, notably Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer), begin to develop in his imagination and, in front of his eyes, manifest in the real world.

What's most fascinating about The Man Who Invented Christmas isn't necessarily the ebbs and flows of Dickens' writing but rather the ebbs and flows of Dickens' genius. He's portrayed, brilliantly by Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast), as a man who struggles with confidence. He worries about money even as he lives comfortably, he struggles to reconcile with his past and his relationship with his father, he's been battling a serious case of writers' block, and in those times when he has been writing, the books have not done particularly well, not in sales and not with the critics, including one highbrow (Miles Jupp) who delights in knocking Dickens down in what are amongst the film's best scenes. But as the artist gains inspiration for his book, including meeting people whose names, phrases, and characteristics would come to shape the story, Dickens finds himself in a frenzy of literally brilliance and on the path to personal redemption, guided by a manifestation of Scrooge himself, who is in many ways Dickens' mirror of his own creation, an outlet, ultimately, into whom the writer pours his soul and onto whom he lays his heart.

The movie isn't exactly teeming with a sense of authenticity. The movie is based on a book of the same name by Les Standiford, but it certainly takes some liberties with the true story for comedic and dramatic effect. The film is playful, light on its feet, and enjoys its character, his struggles and ultimately his successes and particularly his idiosyncrasies. Stevens' portrayal is on the nose, capturing the realities of a struggling writer, running (literally, often) with ideas as they spring into his head in classic "eureka!" moments, and battling through his clashes with Scrooge, portrayed by Christopher Plummer with scene-stealing aplomb. But it's mostly Stevens putting on that writers' front and not only portraying, but seemingly understanding, how for so many the process works, as characters aren't necessarily forged as words on a page but, for him, anyway, living, breathing figures who guide him in their own creation and, along the way, guide him back into reality and success. That's the movie's real magic, its brilliant capture of the process with the added benefit of watching one of literature's great tales come to be.

The Man Who Invented Christmas is a fun little watch about a man who finds inspiration to write in the world around him, but also as his story becomes a reflection of himself, in a roundabout way. It's well acted with a pair of leads in Stevens and Plummer who devour the material in every scene. Universal's Blu-ray skimps on special features but does deliver fantastic 1080p picture and 5.1 lossless sound. Recommended.

[CSW] -3.3- Possibly a new favorite Christmas movie. Beautifully designed and cast, it really captures the sometimes frustrating creative process, bringing the characters to life as Dickens struggles to craft A Christmas Carol into the masterpiece we know and love, all while facing financial and professional problems in the sectarian England of his day. People he meets and things they say are skillfully inserted into the plot and polished to perfection. This is a must see before Christmas. Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) is wonderful and Scrooge (Christopher Plummer) is at his best. Taking you back to how A Christmas Carol was created in a writer's mind is brilliant. The movie can jump around a bit but gives you an idea how frantic he was to write the novel. If you remember the earlier movies it is easy to follow the jumps. The original title was:
A Christmas Carol
A Ghost Story of Christmas
We know how the story ends, but now we get to see how it begins. "God bless us, everyone" Merry Christmas tiny Tim
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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