Review of The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) by Chungkingcop — 25 Dec 2021

An uninteresting attempt at a biopic for a very interesting man. Dickens was a notorious Theosophist who ran in elite circles and dabbled in the occult (facts that very well may have played a part in his developing A Christmas Carol), but this film doesn't utilize any of these fascinating truths to weave its tale.

Instead, it strings us along with the paper-thin narrative that every aspect of A Christmas Carol was inspired by actual occurrences in his life. As a writer of magical realism myself, I can tell you that writers' works are seldom overwhelmingly inspired by reality.

When I say this movie acted like A Christmas Carol was inspired by actual occurrences in his life, I mean it acts like EVERYTHING in A Christmas Carol was. It even goes so far as to try to convince us that he was schizophrenic and would literally have conversations with his characters.

What really boggled my mind with the writing of this script is that Dickens tells the publisher that A Christmas Carol will be a comedy, and then, he proceeds to get writer's block at the death of Tiny Tim in the Ghost of Christmas Future's vision.

99% of writers know the ending from the beginning. If he told the publisher that it was a comedy, chances are he would have figured out some version of a happy ending early on. The fact is, you can tell where the movie's going 30 minutes in.

It begins to hit all the beats. Dickens becomes dear friends with his maid for the first two thirds of the film, then lashes out at her when she interrupts his writing (which she's done a thousand times before, by the way) in the third act just to add drama.

It's cheap writing, and maybe if I was 9 and under, this movie would warm the cockles of my heart. But as a writer and fan of history, when it comes to a movie about Charles Dickens (or any writer, for that matter) I think the producers owe us not only a well-written film, but at least the semblance of an attempt at historical accuracy.