![]() It doesn’t feel out of place in terms of Murphy’s relentlessly bleak tone, but the execution is tone-deaf (as is the handling of Scrooge’s own history of abuse), especially with its place in a story of forgiveness. One can’t help but think that a story involving him harassing Mary Cratchit was added in part because of a recent public reckoning with high-profile predators. This "Christmas Carol" has darker ideas for how Scrooge would maliciously dehumanize people, going so far as to get Scrooge verifiably canceled. This makes for a scene that looks like it could give the story a sense of life-Scrooge meeting the childhood hero who filled his imagination for years-until it careens to a memory that involves child abuse, and Scrooge being rescued by his sister from a predatory boarding school master. Knight’s script spends a lot of time with Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past ( Andy Serkis), who turns into important figures from Scrooge’s past, like his father Franklin ( Johnny Harris) or his favorite literary character as a child, Ali Baba ( Kayvan Novak). ![]() Marley’s pleas for redemption while stuck in purgatory are answered with the demand that Scrooge must repent, too knowing that it’s impossible, Marley nonetheless appears (in chains) to tell Scrooge about the Christmas ghosts who will visit him as a type of reckoning. People have died directly because of his distaste for people, this movie will talk about, and then show us. Pearce is formidable in the iconic role, but his performance, and his take on the character, is not in the least surprising.įor good measure, Knight’s version starts off with someone pissing on the gravestone of Jacob Marley ( Stephen Graham), Scrooge’s partner in creating a selfish enterprise that controls the lives of Bob Cratchit ( Joe Alwyn) and his family, including his wife Mary ( Vinette Robinson) and their son Tiny Tim ( Lenny Rush). Guy Pearce plays this iteration of the holiday hater with plenty of cold stares, transforming Scrooge’s cold indifference to the holiday into downright villainy. ![]() Adapted for the screen by Steven Knight (“ Locke,” “Serenity”), “A Christmas Carol” offers a murkier, muddier journey down a familiar story path, and exists as this weird experiment to see if the rewards in Scrooge's can manage his more adult flaws. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |