The Man Who Invented Christmas (film)

The Man Who Invented Christmas is a 2017 biographical drama film directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by Susan Coyne based on the book of the same name by Les Standiford. It stars Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, and Jonathan Pryce. The plot follows Charles Dickens (Stevens) as he conceives and writes A Christmas Carol.’’

The Man Who Invented Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBharat Nalluri
Produced by
  • Robert Mickelson
  • Ian Sharples
  • Paula Mazur
  • Mitchell Kaplan
  • Andrew Karpen
  • Vadim Jean
Written bySusan Coyne
Based onThe Man Who Invented Christmas
by Les Standiford
Starring
Music byMychael Danna
CinematographyBen Smithard
Edited by
  • Stephen O'Connell
  • Jamie Pearson
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • 22 November 2017 (2017-11-22) (Canada)
Running time
104 minutes[2]
Country
  • Ireland
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8.1 million[3]

It was released by Bleecker Street in the United States on 22 November 2017[4] and in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2017.[5]

Plot

In 1843, four years after the success of Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) is suffering financial hardship from the failure of his last three books. Rejected by his publishers, he sets out to write a new book, and publish it himself, to restore his finances. Seeing inspiration around London, most notably a rich man's funeral that is largely unattended and a mean-spirited old man who gives him the catchphrase "Humbug", he begins writing A Christmas Carol, due in six weeks in order to be published by Christmas, despite his friends and publishers telling him that the book will also be a failure as Christmas (at the time) was considered irrelevant and few people celebrated it. As Charles develops the story, he interacts with the characters that manifest in front of him, most notably Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer). Dickens is helped by one of his servants, Tara (Anna Murphy), a literate Irish nursemaid to his children, whom he discusses story elements with.

While writing his book, Charles is greeted by the unannounced arrival of his eccentric but loving father, John Dickens (Jonathan Pryce), whom Charles views as immature and fiscally irresponsible. When Charles shows Tara the next draft, she is distraught that Scrooge would not save Tiny Tim. Tara believes that people can change and suggests instead that Scrooge saves Tiny Tim. However, Charles is unable to believe that a man as cruel and cold as Scrooge could change. He rejects the notion but it continues to haunt him in the form of writer's block. Charles' relationship with his family and friends increasingly strains as he struggles with Scrooge's ending and his debts mount, until he sends both his parents and Tara out of the house in a fit of rage. The next morning, he regrets dismissing Tara, but is unable to find and rehire her. His wife, Catherine Dickens, tearfully confronts Charles over his own irresponsibility and instability, and admits that she believes he puts his work before his own family.

It is revealed that much of Charles' animosity towards his father is from his childhood humiliation of working in a blacking factory after his family was taken to debtors' prison because of his father's irresponsibility with money. Returning to the long-abandoned factory, Charles is forced to confront his own insecurities through Scrooge. Charles realizes that his story should be one of redemption and races home to finish his manuscript. As he is about to leave his home to submit it to his printer he finds that Tara has come to return a book that he'd lent her, and he apologizes for his angry outburst and invites her back to the household. His wife suggests that he do the same with his father, who is about to board a train to leave London. He does so and, after reconnecting with his family, submits the manuscript in time for publishing before Christmas.

The film ends with the Dickens family celebrating the holidays, while a title text explains the overnight success of A Christmas Carol and its lasting impact on the Christmas holiday.

Cast

Release and reception

The film was released in the United States in 500 theaters on 22 November 2017.[6]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 169 reviews, with an average rating of 6.34/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Man Who Invented Christmas adds holiday magic to the writing of A Christmas Carol, putting a sweetly revisionist spin on the story behind a classic yuletide tale."[7] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 60 out of 100, based 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Saturn Awards 27 June 2018 Best International Film The Man Who Invented Christmas Nominated [9]

References
  1. "Opening Gala: The Man Who Invented Christmas". Cork Film Festival. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  2. "THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. November 21, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  3. "The Man Who Invented Christmas". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  4. Hipes, Patrick (November 7, 2016). "Dan Stevens & Christopher Plummer To Star In Charles Dickens Tale 'The Man Who Invented Christmas'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  5. Dingle, Jon (September 23, 2017). "The Man Who Invented Christmas UK Release Date Announced". Filmoria. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  6. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 20, 2017). "Can 'Coco' Whip 'Justice League' For Top Spot Over Thanksgiving Stretch? – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  7. "The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  8. "The Man Who Invented Christmas Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  9. McNary, Dave (March 15, 2018). "'Black Panther,' 'Walking Dead' Rule Saturn Awards Nominations". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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