Review by Elyse Trevers
This will be a Christmas unlike any other in our history, so it’s fitting that a new version of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic “A Christmas Carol” be unique as well.
Filmed at United Palace in Washington Heights, the film is a tour de force for the impressive Jefferson Mays who plays more than 50 parts. At the end of the film, when the credits roll, Mays’ name appears next to each character, except for that of the spectre.
The film version, directed by Michael Arden, was adapted by Mays, Arden and Susan Lyons. It was conceived by Arden and set designer Dane Laffrey.
Mays begins as a neutral narrator and then assumes the roles of each of the cast of characters. He becomes Scrooge, the ghosts, Bob Cratchit, as well as several others.
The classic story tells of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly man driven only by money, which he chooses over family and love. One fateful Christmas Eve, he’s visited by his dead partner Morley, warning him to learn from his own dreadful example and to change his ways. Morley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts that night. Later as foretold, three spirits, The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future all appear to Scrooge.
Fortunately for Scrooge (and indeed all viewers) the future can be changed, and by morning Scrooge is a man with a new attitude on life.
This version is superbly done and the star is masterful but the movie is not family fare, not for children. “A Christmas Carol” is generally a holiday staple for theaters. However, this one is too dark and menacing. It seeks to evoke an emotional response. In fact, I found myself grimacing at Mays when he was being particularly nasty to Cratchit and others at the beginning of the story.
The biggest problem I had with the presentation was how dark it is. Often I was uncertain as to whether the dark was programmed or it was from the computer, the angle or even the glare from outside my window. At times it is somewhat difficult to see Mays clearly.
Darkness plays a vital role in the story itself. Dickens describes how Scrooge liked the darkness because ‘darkness was cheap.” In fact, the same darkness that created the mood for the ghosts’ visits allows for special effects created by shadows and silhouettes and puppetry (Design by James Ortiz.)
The sound, especially Mays’ projection and his nuance for different characters, is excellent. He is on stage for the entire presentation, but there are occasionally other ‘figures’ presented through shadows, puppets, lights and sound effects. The film makes good use of sound amplification.
When Marley first appears to Scrooge, I physically started at his entrance. The movie differentiates between the two characters through the use of lights and characterization. Mays shifts slightly and Marley is basked in green light. The light over him changes as he changes character to become Scrooge.
Sometimes the tool that makes viewing convenient brings its own problems. Unable to get my smart TV to cooperate, I viewed the entire 97 minutes on my Mac which meant a smaller screen and often issues with lighting and shadows that weren’t part of the film itself.
“A Christmas Carol” is no mere children’s Christmas story. Instead it is presented as a morality tale for all times. It is worth seeing Mays, a masterful actor, but I’d wait until the kids are asleep.
The cost of tickets will help support regional, educational and community theaters across the US. Dedicated to the victims of Covid, the film will run through Jan. 3
achristmascarollive.com
