When I was a kid, I used to make a game out of seeing as many adaptations of A Christmas Carol as I could find on cable. Over the years, I’ve probably seen more than a dozen.
There are some things that Ebenezer gets remarkably right, and others that genuinely disturbed me.
Johnny Depp Gives Us a Different Kind of Scrooge
First off, Johnny Depp does something truly remarkable with Ebenezer Scrooge. Anyone claiming that he’s simply repurposing Jack Sparrow is overlooking what makes this performance so distinctive.
Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge – Paramount Pictures, YouTube
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Somehow, in a way that’s difficult to describe, Depp imbues the old miser with a cold charm. Yes, he’s cranky, selfish, and thoroughly unpleasant. And yet, underneath all that bitterness, there’s something strangely appealing. I’ve never seen Scrooge portrayed quite like this before.
We want him to be a better man.
That might sound like a small accomplishment, but for a character who has been portrayed by so many talented actors over the years, finding something new to bring to the role is no small feat.
A Christmas Carol by Way of Hammer Horror
Another thing that immediately jumped out at me was the horror movie atmosphere created by director Ti West.
The opening credits and the staves are presented in a Gothic, blood-red font that looks straight out of a Hammer horror film. (Why didn’t Hammer ever make A Christmas Carol, by the way?)
We’re so familiar with Dickens’ story that it’s easy to forget that, at its heart, A Christmas Carol is a ghost story. West makes sure we don’t.
The Ghost of Christmas Past in Ebenezer – Paramount Pictures, YouTube
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Some of the ghosts work better than others. The Ghost of Christmas Past resembles the reanimated corpse of a young bride, while the Ghost of Christmas Future is a towering terror. Unfortunately, the Ghost of Christmas Present isn’t quite the jolly specter he should have been.
The rest of the cast is excellent. Sir Ian McKellen makes a terrific Jacob Marley, while Rupert Grint brings surprising warmth to Bob Cratchit. Sam Claflin’s Fred will rip your heart out, and Daisy Ridley, playing his wife, gets one of the film’s best laugh-out-loud moments.
Fred is also given a more personal reason for reaching out to his uncle, adding an emotional resonance to their relationship.
Most importantly, the themes of redemption, the importance of family, and the spirit of Christmas remain intact.
But I do have some significant problems with this retelling.
Unnecessary Additions to a Familiar Story
Some of Dickens’ more iconic lines have been cut, though that’s a relatively minor complaint.
More frustrating are the additional scenes exploring Scrooge’s past. The movie already feels about 15 minutes too long, and while McKellen is excellent, we don’t need the prologue or the extended exploration of young Ebenezer’s childhood trauma.
Jacob Marley in Ebenezer – Paramount Pictures, YouTube
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An iconic minor character is also shown being murdered, something Dickens certainly never suggested.
Suffice it to say, I wouldn’t want this to be anyone’s introduction to A Christmas Carol, leaving those darker or superfluous additions permanently fixed in their mind as part of the story.
My biggest objections, however, concern Belle and the gentlemen collecting donations for the poor.
Belle Deserved a Better Ending
In Dickens’ story, Belle was the love of Ebenezer’s life. She left him when she realized that he loved gold more than he would ever love her. Their separation is arguably one of the defining moments of his life, illustrating how thoroughly his obsession with wealth had displaced everything else.
The film expands considerably on their relationship. Belle is portrayed as an aspiring novelist, and the two appear to live together for a time.
While traveling with the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge asks to see what became of her. The spirit takes him to a workhouse, where Belle is serving the poor and leading them in a rendition of “Silent Night.”
It leads to one of the most powerful moments in the film.
Young Ebenezer Scrooge and Belle – Paramount Pictures, YouTube
Later, Scrooge discovers that Belle achieved her dream of becoming a published author. That’s all well and good, but it comes at the expense of one of Dickens’ most touching scenes.
In the novella, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge what became of Belle. She’s surrounded by a bustling family, with children laughing and playing in a scene filled with warmth, happiness, and barely controlled chaos.
That could have been his family. Now it’s too late.
It’s a devastating glimpse of the life Scrooge sacrificed in pursuit of wealth, and one of the most effective moments in the original story.
Instead, the filmmakers chose to eliminate that domestic scene and replace it with the assurance that Belle wrote a book and married a decent man.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with giving Belle professional ambitions. But in emphasizing her literary success, the film loses much of the emotional weight of what Scrooge might have had.
An Unnecessarily Cynical Twist
My other major objection concerns the handling of the “portly gentlemen” collecting donations for charity.
In Dickens’ story, these men represent the generosity and compassion that Scrooge has rejected. Their visit gives him an opportunity to help those less fortunate, which he famously refuses.
In Ebenezer, however, Scrooge accuses the gentlemen of lining their own pockets with the donation money.
Later, he’s essentially proven right when the Ghost of Christmas Future reveals the two men plotting to steal his business following his death.
Ghost of Christmas Future – Paramount Pictures, YouTube
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Perhaps this was intended as commentary on the sometimes questionable practices of modern charitable organizations. But here, it comes across as unnecessary cynicism.
Dickens used these characters to contrast Scrooge’s selfishness with the generosity of others. By turning them into opportunists, the filmmakers undermine that contrast and, to some extent, vindicate Scrooge’s distrust.
It’s an odd creative decision in a story that’s supposed to celebrate compassion and generosity.
Between that change and the handling of Belle, these two elements nearly soured me on Ebenezer.
A Flawed but Rewarding Christmas Carol
Still, as an atmospheric, horror-tinged retelling of this oft-told tale, Ebenezer gets more right than it does wrong.
Depp delivers a Scrooge who’s easier to root for than many of his predecessors, while West’s Gothic sensibilities remind audiences that Dickens’ beloved Christmas classic can also be genuinely frightening.
Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge – Paramount Pictures, YouTube
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The unnecessary additions and questionable changes to familiar characters keep the film from reaching the heights it might have achieved. Yet the essential message survives, and Scrooge’s redemption is ultimately satisfying.
Ebenezer is unlikely to become the definitive adaptation of A Christmas Carol. For newcomers, I’d still recommend experiencing Dickens’ story in a more traditional form first.
But for those of us who have spent years revisiting Scrooge and his spectral visitors, this is a fascinating, sometimes frustrating, and frequently wonderful new interpretation.
It’s not perfect. But it’s very, very good.
Rating: 8/10
Have you seen Ebenezer? What did you think? Sound off and let us know!
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