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A Christmas Carol (2009)

Time Out rating

Average user rating

41 reviews

Synopsis

Director Robert Zemeckis uses the motion-capture techniques developed in his previous film, 'Beowulf', to tell re-spin Charles Dickens's Christmas classic with an all-star voice cast.

Movie review

From Time Out London

The third ‘performance capture’ animation from writer-director Robert Zemeckis – following ‘The Polar Express’ and ‘Beowulf’ – takes Dickens’s cautionary and sentimental 1840s novella and delivers a visually arresting but surprisingly ghoulish and family-unfriendly ghost ride.
Not unlike the latest ‘Harry Potter’, it opens with a fantastic, technically superb aerial swoop over the teeming streets of London but, from there on, seems uncomfortable on the ground. To an extent, this ‘Christmas Carol’ is a case of style – and stylisation – overwhelming substance. The technology’s developing competence in delivering texture and vertiginous line and scale deny any sense of intimacy in the film’s settings, from the oceanic swathes of planked floorboard that Scrooge paces in his lending-house, to the restlessly changing angles from which poor, trusting Bob Cratchit’s (Gary Oldman) festive table is viewed in his cold, humble dwelling.

Likewise, despite staying true to Dickens’s dialogue, the characterisations are opaque, as facial expressions and people’s eyes are often creepily indistinct. How can we judge, for instance, Jim Carrey’s acting when he has provided a database of performances in his six incarnations? He plays Ebenezer Scrooge as a lonely schoolboy, heedless young lover and elderly curmudgeon and is also the ghosts of past, present and future – which means that possible pathos and sympathy is trumped by the surreal and impersonal spectacle of endless metamorphoses. That said, cinematographer Robert Presley and the design team provide many instances of graphical triumph, influenced by silent cinema, the spirit of Tim Burton and – in Scrooge’s moment of torment in the dockside murk and mist – David Lean. What the film suffers from is a want of common comfort, despite its nominally redemptive, happy ending.

Author: Wally Hammond

Time Out London Issue 2046: 5-11 November, 2009

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User reviews of this film

galaxy said...

Posted on Jan 10 2012 10:20 ir okaii it was boring though i was on my phone for most of it

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harrybows said...

Posted on Jan 05 2012 18:19 The film was magnificent and wuld go ad see it again one of the films to get me in the christmas moo

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Nic Niewart said...

Posted on Sep 26 2010 21:29 In live action, the Alastair Sim version is probably the most loved, with myriad other versions all contributing something new, but never ringing the bell of something new, something better. And like THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, it seems to be remade every four years of so, whether for TV or cinema. This is a very ambitious project, and I think it succeeds in all departments. It is the shock of the ghosts and the scary things they relate, that turns Scrooge into a changed man. It is a virtuoso performance by Jim Carrey, playing as he does all the ghosts, as well as Scrooge, also several roles are by Gary Oldman, and the much under-rated Cary Elwes. The colours, art direction is very evocative of the early-mid 19th century, drama is produced by the milestones of watching Scrooge being what he is and how he is. It is a well known story and I suppose everybody will find fault with something, and how they do! But as a dvd to keep in the collection-yes. This is a tour de force in 3-d animation.

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CAROL MILES said...

Posted on Feb 26 2010 22:37 Disappointing, Disappointing, Disappointing. As always Christmas will come around again. Next time just watch the Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol. Yes, that's the ticket.

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Bluewaterk said...

Posted on Jan 23 2010 05:37 My teenage boys and I went and saw this film. They were just part of A Christmas Carol drama play presentation and can say most of the lines from the book by memory. We all loved it. Regardless of what the critics say, it was a unique and graphically beautiful retelling of a beloved tale with many deeply moving metaphors I have never seen in any other adaption. (I own most of them) For instance, what adaption has ever showed us what ignorance and want are? This one does...they develop and mature right before your eyes. We talked for a long time about the meaning of all the interesting graphic interpretations and twists they put into the movie. I think this stuff went right over the critic's heads. If you are a deep thinker or a philosopher you will enjoy this movie. It will be a favorite for our family for many years.

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chanel said...

Posted on Jan 02 2010 12:05 it is great film i have watched it and am going to see it again today

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puffbother said...

Posted on Dec 31 2009 22:28 Film was nice, a bit short, storyline could of had added to it a bit more depth, but none the less the effects were great and my 3 year old loved it

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Andy and Laura! said...

Posted on Dec 31 2009 20:01 IGNORE THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS!!! We saw this in 3D today and it was magnificent!! It was jumpy and dark during the Ghost scenes (under 10s be warned) and Jim Carrey (you wouldn't have known it was him in ALL his roles) was superb. We loved it, and its one of the most faithful versions I've seen (apart from when he goes midget!!). Would see it again if VUE wasn't such a rip off!!! Fantastic. A Christmas treat!

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millie said...

Posted on Dec 31 2009 10:39 this movie is very good but under 10 year olds should not go to see it

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NNM said...

Posted on Dec 29 2009 18:03 Brilliant film true to the original story by Dickens - took my students who compared it with the text and other versions and they all thought it the closest to the text and definitely had the wow factor! Outstanding!

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charlie said...

Posted on Dec 23 2009 08:22 i haven't seen it yet so im kinda thinking if i shouldgo and see alvin and the chipmunks instead . with these coments i probably will go and see alvin and the chipmunks 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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Ty said...

Posted on Dec 23 2009 01:37 waste of time- not all worth the penny paid! I blackberried through most of it..

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SLI said...

Posted on Dec 22 2009 23:20 I could not stand this movie. It was tacky, and definatly not for kids. I actually dont know of any age that would like it. I thought the whole thing was way crazy, and not ever worth seeing again.

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Thomas Noctor said...

Posted on Dec 20 2009 04:17 I agree this is a very dark tale, the very first ghost encounter is simular to a scene in Paranormal Activity! But I would recommemd the Dvd get a 12 cert at the very least! Good effects, but as a 26 year old man I feel sorry for the mis lead parents and kids!

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Julie said...

Posted on Dec 19 2009 22:22 I took my 11 year old and 7 year old to see what I thought would be a Disney classic . They came out really upset by the images of the spirits . They were frighteningly graphic. More like a horror movie than a Christmas film. Avoid it !!!'

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