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The Man Who Invented Christmas(2017)

Movie1h 45mEnglishDrama, History, Comedy, Family

7.2

User Score

70%

Critic Score

Director: Bharat Nalluri

Writers: Charles Dickens, Susan Coyne

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Overview

In 1843, a celebrated writer hits a rough patch when his latest book fails, pushing him to race against time for a new idea. As money worries and family tensions mount, he draws on childhood memories and the streets around him, and his imagined characters begin to feel startlingly real.

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Review Summary

Pros: strong performances; imaginative writing process; warm holiday spirit | Cons: slow opening; uneven tone; not deeply historical

Will You Like This?

You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a cozy, imaginative look at creativity under pressure with a mix of humor and heartfelt moments, especially if you like A Christmas Carol; Not for you if you want fast pacing or strict historical accuracy.

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Featured Comments/Tips

Jim222001

An interesting film about the brainstorming behind writing Scrooge. With brilliant work by Dan Stevens (Beauty 'amp; the Beast) as Charles Dickens. While Christopher Plummer is just as good as his creation Scrooge, himself.

wambie

One of the better movies I''ve seen in a long time.

TKPNPodcast

A wonderful addition to the countless adaption of A Christmas Carol. This meta tale parallels Dickens and his writing process with the tale itself. Great acting and renews my love of this tale of generosity of will and a charity of the heart. A delight! 8/10

Lee Brown Barrow

I don''t believe for a minute that the events in this film led to the writing of A Christmas Carol, but despite it being all a bit tinsel and glitter with no real substance, it is still an enjoyable and heartwarming tale. God bless you, everyone!

SparklinDiamond

I enjoyed this film. It was a lovely insight to see how Charles may have came up with his characters and plot. It was very heartwarming and a lovely addition to my Christmas movies.

jarvis-8243417

_The Man Who Invented Christmas_ is a compelling and whimsical fictionalized telling of Charles Dickens’ writing of _A Christmas Carol_. Having lost the faith of his publishers after a string of failed novels and dwindling finances, Charles Dickens comes up with a scheme to self-publish a Christmas book that will put him back on top; but to do so he’ll have to confront the ghosts of his past. The film does an impressive job at showing the creative process, with Dickens literally bringing characters to life and interacting with them as he develops them. Dan Stevens does a good job at playing Charles Dickens, and Christopher Plummer is perfectly cast as Scrooge. Additionally, newcomer Anna Murphy brings a lot of charisma as the nurse/muse who inspires Dickens. Also, the sets and costumes are especially well-done, giving a real Dickensian feel to the film. Inspirational, with a little bit of magic, _The Man Who Invented Christmas_ is an entertaining look behind the novel that forever changed the way we see Christmas.

Nancy L Draper

This movie is a madcap reconstruction of the writing process that produced THE CHRISTMAS CAROL, probably as much fiction as fact, but spun together with all the frenzy of the creative spark. This scattered approach to storytelling is illuminated by some stellar performances, but, once again, Scrooge steals the show. Christopher Plummer:flag_ca: brings a startling depth to the Scrooge we know married with the Scrooge that was the catalyst for Dickens'' imagination. This was an award worthy performance. I give this film a 7 (good) out of 10. [Historical Fiction]. But, I take issue with the title. No one invented Christmas nor would it fall into obscurity. As long as there are those who owe their lives to a babe, born in a manger, born to bear our sins and redeem our lives, there will be a Christmas. And, all the goodness of Christmas comes not from a tale of the transformation of a tight-fisted old man, but as a overflow from the transforming presence of Christ in the lives of those who call Him Lord. (Thus endeth the sermon).

jarvis-8243417

The Man Who Invented Christmas is a compelling and whimsical fictionalized telling of Charles Dickens’ writing of A Christmas Carol. Having lost the faith of his publishers after a string of failed novels and dwindling finances, Charles Dickens comes up with a scheme to self-publish a Christmas book that will put him back on top; but to do so he’ll have to confront the ghosts of his past. The film does an impressive job at showing the creative process, with Dickens literally bringing characters to life and interacting with them as he develops them. Dan Stevens does a good job at playing Charles Dickens, and Christopher Plummer is perfectly cast as Scrooge. Additionally, newcomer Anna Murphy brings a lot of charisma as the nurse/muse who inspires Dickens. Also, the sets and costumes are especially well-done, giving a real Dickensian feel to the film. Inspirational, with a little bit of magic, The Man Who Invented Christmas is an entertaining look behind the novel that forever changed the way we see Christmas.

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Featured User Reviews

AdamMorgan

7/10

What struck me over and over again while watching this film is a single question: is there a better movie in here? The good: The acting is phenomenal. I can’t believe Christopher Plummer is still acting at his age but he absolutely crushes this role (as he always does). About ten minutes into the film I wondered where this story would go as it seemed rather straight-forward. Halfway through the movie we are introduced to new layers that interweave the current story with the original story. I really found this fascinating and gave the movie a depth that I was not expecting. The bad: Well, nothing really “bad”. The worst I can say about the film is the question that I posed at the beginning of the review. The film was satisfying but I felt given the layers and acting it could have been fantastic. That said, I couldn’t quite figure out what it could have been. Should it be more of a comedy or more of a dark drama? If it was the former we’ve seen that before in Scrooged. If it was the latter it might too much resemble the actual story. Maybe I would have the “characters” be more involved in a kind of neurotic way? I don’t know. see my christmas movie reviews at https://ihatebadmovies.com/?s=christmas

Keeper70

0/10

Dan Stevens is a charming and charasmatic presence as Charles Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas but he is given a tough task, he has to portray a man in the midst of the creative process and a creative process that is blocked. In real life this is staring at a wall for most of us and doing lots of the things that come under the heading of procrastination. To make it entertaining Stevens has to play this type of dry spell like it is coursing through his veins like some stimulating drug rather than something that drags you down. For the sake of a screen version of this story it has to be this way, otherwise you have a dull film. Stevens plays this role perfectly and is the anchor that makes the film an enjoyable watch. Fortunately the film is populated with some excellent British acting talent lead by the unredoubtable Christoper Plummer, Johnathan Price and Simon Callow although Callow is close to being a cameo as Dickens famed illustrator John Leech. I think he is contractually obliged to act in all Dickens passed films or TV shows. Having 'favourites' I was pleased to see Justin Edwards and Miles Jupp (Thackeray) popping up during the storyline so I am biased. There is a good mixture of comedy sprinkled throughout the running but it is part of the story and not the overriding reason for the story. The story, whilst seeming original, is in fact close to Shakespeare in Love with events and people in Dickens life shaping his latest story. The method is different, yet not original, where the characters Dickens is creating appear and interact with him. On the plus side this could have been very clunky but director Nalluri and the actors handle is well and smoothly. It was fun. The film definitely assumes you have some working knowledge of Dickens and his novels but this is in fact a plus point. There is no hand holding here or one-hundred weight exposition crushing the proceedings. The story leaves us in no mind that Dickens reinvented Christmas soley through Christmas Carol but does not really explore how Christmas was celebrated before then, other than nearly all bosses appear to be Scrooge clones, so much so that getting inspiration should not have been that hard for the author. These are all piffling points and you should not really go into the film looking for an accurate depiction of Charles Dickens or the times, that is another film. The Man Who Invented Christmas is fun, well acted, film but like many in this type of category you watch it and enjoy it but it's soon forgotten.

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