It needs a little more Christmas cheer.
The story of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” has been transitioned ever since he published it in 1843. The earliest surviving film version was a silent short film in 1901 called “Scrooge, or, Marley’s Ghost.” The 1938 version with Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge was part of an early example of a wide release. The 1970 version “Scrooge” had Albert Finney playing the title miser. Scrooge McDuck upstaged Mickey Mouse as the lead of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” Let’s not forget “The Muppet Christmas Carol” with Michael Caine being the only well-known actor among Kermit, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy. And Jim Carrey played Scrooge through motion capture in Robert Zemeckis’ 2009 version.
To quote Bart Simpson, “TV writers have been milking that goat for years.” Whether we’re talking about TV shows or movies, there are too many versions of Dickens’s story for me to name, but I can acknowledge that they’re trying to remind people about the spirit of Christmas. About how some disgruntled people can change their tune without letting “Bah Humbug” be their identity.
“Ebenezer” is the new film version of the story, directed by Ti West (the “X” trilogy) and starring Johnny Depp as the title miser. So you would think that this would be a fresh new version with the opportunity to bring Depp back to his roots. The “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Ed Wood,” “Rango,” and “Sweeney Todd” roots. I can promise you Depp delivers as the miser, but I can’t promise you that it’s a great version. In fact, it ends up losing some of the holiday cheer, and tries too hard to be darker. Or maybe not hard enough.
We begin with the new Paramount Pictures logo and the Domain company, and then it makes it clear that a snow-covered lamppost with an old Paramount look is the better logo to be presented. And then, we continue with a snowy Victorian London that looks and feels as gloomy as if it was directed by Tim Burton.
I think you know the routine. Ebenezer puts down all the kind people in his life from his nephew Fred (Sam Claflin) to his overworked and underpaid employee Bob Cratchit (Rupert Grint). And he is then warned by the ghost of his old business partner Jacob Marley (Ian McKellan) that he will reach the same fate as him unless he listens to the advice of the three spirits set to visit him.
The Ghost of Christmas Past (Andrea Risebourgh) is white and ghoulish like a lost soul, as she reminds Ebenezer that he was an abused child, and his greed and cynicism took away his potential girlfriend Belle (Ellie Bamber). And Arthur Conti (“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”) plays the young Ebenezer.
The Ghost of Christmas Present (Tramell Tillman) eats like a pig and is rude like one, as he shows him what his nephew is doing for the holidays with his wife (Daisy Ridley) and how his employee might lose his youngest son Tiny Tim. So don’t go expecting him to be like Willie the Giant. Expect him to be deteriorating.
And we know the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Robert Strange) is the darkest spirit, who shows him how desolate the future will be, unless he changes his ways. Don’t expect words from the spirit, but the face underneath his black cloak.
“Ebenezer” has Depp reflecting on his good old days, and with the make-up and accent, he goes for a Jim Carrey angle as the title miser. He seems to be enjoying himself in the role, and we enjoy watching him here. And West gives his version of the classic Christmas story a Tim Burton look, which is quite appealing.
But I feel in a way that this film sells itself short. If it’s made by a filmmaker who specialized in the horror genre with his “X” trilogy,” which took many great risks, then “Ebenezer” should have tried harder on a PG-13 level. Or maybe he should have added more romps and less gloominess in the characters, especially the three spirits. They need the X factor to elevate themselves, but here they seem like cynics and jerks.
It’s Depp who sells “Ebenezer,” but why can’t anyone else be as likable and charming as him? There are other great talents here like McKellan, Clafin, and Grint, but are they really feeling the Christmas spirit? I’m not sure.
