the man who invented christmas by les standiford

Then the film focuses on how Dickens manages to write and publish an illustrated book in less than six weeks. Initially, Christmas is dismissed by one of Dickens’ publishers as merely a “minor holiday” that should not warrant a whole book. The final mistake made by Nalluri and screenwriter Susan Coyne is their failure to sell us on how Dickens actually revolutionized Christmas, as the title suggests.

Watching Dickens balance his hectic work schedule, finances and family life is something many generations will find relatable. From Dickens’ wife Kate, played by Morfydd Clark, and his reliable companion John Forster, played Justin Edwards, to his financially irresponsible father, played by Jonathan Pryce, and his Irish housemaid Tara, played by Anna Murphy, viewers are spoiled by the talent on display. The other main characters are played with a loveable charm by a brilliantly casted British ensemble. The result does not come off as a glimpse into the mind of imaginative writer, let alone one of the most creative penmen in English history. From there, Dickens encounters a series of random characters who conveniently provide inspirational one-liners, a device that dangerously reduces the author’s fabled imagination to a collection of mere stories. This inaccuracy is the first of several pitfalls of the film. The audience views an extremely colorful and bright city that does not mirror historical accounts of London at the time. The film opens during Dickens’ tour in the United States, where he finds excess and extravagance, and later transitions back to London. His determination is amplified when he interacts with characters like William Makepeace Thackery, played Miles Jupp, who mock his latest works. The film shows him struggling financially and searching for inspiration for a new book to blow the critics away.

The plot revolves around a period in Dickens’ life when he is a renowned writer but has recently published a few flops. When it flies, it soars, but when it sinks, it flounders in mediocrity. Though director Bharat Nalluri does get several things right in the film, he and his team also make mistakes that make the film an opportunity not fully realized. Drawing on the biographical work of Les Standiford, “The Man Who Invented Christmas” switches the focus from the ever-miserable Ebenezer Scrooge to Dickens, played by Dan Stevens of “Downton Abbey,” instead. There have been a plethora of adaptations of Charles Dickens’ timeless “A Christmas Carol” over the decades, including “Scrooge,” a 1970 musical film adaptation, and “Christmas Carol: The Movie,” a 2001 animated film featuring the voices of Kate Winslet and Nicolas Cage.

The man who invented christmas by les standiford