Review of A Christmas Carol (2009) by Commander_Jim — 14 Dec 2011

The thing that astounded me about this movie was how faithful it was to the original book. That was something I did not expect. But this is one of the most faithful adaptations yet made, it even keeps the Dickensian dialog intact instead of updating it for modern ears, which is something even highly regarded versions have done. In fact aside from a poorly conceived action sequence near the end of the film, it is almost a word for word recreation of the book. Visually the movie is stunning, Dicken's London has been brought to life in a way never before seen. It is dark, atmospheric and captivating. The characters themselves are works of art, all beautifully brought to life by some brilliant motion capture and voice acting.

This is one of my very favorite versions of the story, a beautifully crafted and faithful movie. But parents be warned, Dickens' story was a ghost story, it was intended to scare. This is no Muppets Christmas Carol. It has some surprisingly dark and scary moments. Not a movie for the little ones.