A Christmas Carol (2019)
Based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Written by Steven Knight
Story by Charles Dickens
Directed by Nick Murphy
Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge
Andy Serkis as Ghost of Christmas Past
Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley
Charlotte Riley as Lottie/Ghost of Christmas Present
Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit
Vinette Robinson as Mary Cratchit
Jason Flemyng as Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Kayvan Novak as Ali Baba
Lenny Rush as Tiny Tim
Johnny Harris as Franklin Scrooge
Lots of people make a point of watching A Christmas Carol this time of year. It may be the Alistair Sims’ 1951 movie, still considered the gold standard. It might be Bill Murray or the Muppets. Or a school play. We all have our favorite version. Mine is the 1984 George C. Scott version, aside from being beautifully made and acted, was the first version I encountered in which Scrooge actually had a scrotum and kept it, and didn’t just turn into a shivering puddle of forced gaiety peeking anxiously over his shoulder at supernatural retribution. Scott’s Scrooge made you feel that a great weight had been lifted, and the transformation was real, and likely to last past Boxing Day.
But it’s the ultimate in family fare for the holiday, something parents proudly share with wide-eye children.
Therefore, a lot of people aren’t going to like the FX/BBC reimagining of the Dickens classic now being shown as a 3 hour movie on Hulu. Not only is the tone much darker than the versions we’re used to, where cruelty and deprivation are mere shadow contrasts to unbounded joy, but OCD viewers will scream in outrage when Scrooge says, “Bah, Humbug!” Like “Elementary, my dear Watson” it was never part of the original. But it’s not child-friendly.
What Knight and Murphy have done with this new version is extended it, adding a fair bit of back story. Ebenezer’s childhood is much darker and bleaker than the original story, so much so that it can’t really be called family-friendly viewing. The adult Scrooge is nastier as a result. The other day Paul Krugman wrote that people who compared Trump to Scrooge were doing Scrooge a disservice, because while Scrooge was heartless and mean spirited, he was never deliberately cruel. THIS Scrooge is deliberately cruel, particularly in his treatment of the Cratchit family. (Another story element not suitable for kids). With this Scrooge, it isn’t remorse for opportunities lost: it is guilt for the great harm he has caused.
Scrooge’s transformation is a subtle thing, tentative first steps rather than a joyous/fearful wild embrace of a new life. But those baby steps have an strong sense of irrevocability to them. This Scrooge will not reverse his course.
But the background and extensions do blend beautifully with the canon, creating a beautifully crafted and internally consistent story. It’s well known that Dickens borrowed from elements of his own life to infuse the story with the depth needed to become a classic, but I can’t help but wonder if the FX/BBC version isn’t somewhat closer to what Dickens wanted to write, rather than within the limitations imposed on him by his editors and reading audience. We’ll never know, of course, but Knight and Murphy have teemed up to create something far deeper, psychologically sound, and jarring than what you’ll see on the Hallmark channel this season.
A lot of people are going to hate this, for the same reason long-time Star Trek fans hate Star Trek: Discover. It’s the same universe, has some of the same characters, but it’s absolutely nothing like the original. I’ll understand people who dislike this FX/BBC production. But I’ll also feel a little sorry for them, because their love of tradition is denying them a work of sheer genius.