It is a rare treat to go to the movies and know someone who actually had a leading role in helping it get made.
Beyond the name in the closing credits, there is a moment of clarity when you actually can sense their guiding hand in the finished product.
Thus was my experience with The Man Who Invented Christmas, produced by the Mazar/Kaplan team, and based on the book by South Florida author and local treasure Les Standiford.
Living in Miami can often make getting into the holiday spirit a bit of a challenge, especially having grown up in Ohio where the changing of the colors on the leaves led us right into a welcomed winter chill and the first snow of the season.
But, there is something about this little movie that not only warms the heart, it helps you fall back in love with Christmas, even when it is 80 degrees outside.
I used to rely upon the amazing voices of Seraphic Fire and their annual Christmas concert to conjure up the holiday vibe, but not this year. Thanks to Mitchell Kaplan and the entire team behind The Man Who Invented Christmas, I am raring to go!
The movie follows a familiar, yet unknown (at least to me) plot line featuring the beloved 19th Century author Charles Dickens, he of A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist fame.
Spoiler alert!
The movie chronicles the period of time where Dickens is writing — or attempting to write — A Christmas Carol. But, as some would characterize it, he was straight-up blocked. Coming off three literary flops in a row, Dickens is up to his eyeballs in debt and quite literally stuck as he tries to actually re-invent himself and a holiday that is all but forgotten. Easier said than done.
With Dan Stevens in the lead role and Ebenezer Scrooge deliciously portrayed by Christopher Plummer (Captain Von Trapp himself), there is no shortage of nostalgic vignettes and heart-warming moments that bring the characters to actual life right before our wide eyes.
In essence, the storytelling in the movie mirrors that of Dickens’ unique literary style, perfectly named (and costumed) characters and a narrative searching for hope, even in a time of great despair. The 1840s were not an easy time and while London may have been cosmopolitan compared to other cities of the era, it was still harsh and people were working (and living) in terrible conditions. Hope — and one another — was all they had.
In London, Christmas had become a minor holiday and very few, if any, gave it much thought. And so, while searching for his next big hit, Dickens stumbles into Scrooge and Marley and Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig and Bob Cratchit and even Tiny Tim. They leap out of these moments in his life and onto the pages of a yet unfinished Christmas Carol.
Throughout the course of the movie, you see the plot lines come together, but of course, the twist is the ending. Isn’t it always with Dickens?
And yet, Dickens struggles mightily with how to wrap the plot up with a nice Christmas bow, even as his own life mirrors that of Scrooge’s: growing up poor and being sent to a workhouse while his father is in debtor’s prison; facing his own present day challenges as a celebrated author living beyond his means, at odds with his publisher and dealing with a difficult father who lacks the ability to stand on his own, and finally, the future, with four children and one on the way in a house that is bankrupting him — what will it all bring?
Hope, I tell you. And so does Dickens. Scrooge lives on because there is still so much to do and fix and save. A lesson as important today as it was nearly 200 years ago.
Thank you Charles Dickens; thank you Les Standiford, and most importantly, thank you Mitchell Kaplan. You all have reminded us all to continue to cherish the most important part of Christmas — the gift of a silver lining, wrapped in optimism and hope.
Comments are closed.