Movie Review: ‘Ebenezer’

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One of my favorite Christmas traditions is watching at least one version of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. I usually go for the more comedic takes, like Scrooged with Bill Murray and The Muppet Christmas Carol with Michael Caine, although this year I intend to rewatch the 1999 TV-movie version with Patrick Stewart. This new version, titled Ebenezer with Johnny Depp, is so good that it could easily become part of that annual Christmas tradition. It largely stays true to the original story and is one of the best adaptations I have seen in a long time.

Everyone knows the basic story: greedy old miser gets visited by four spirits on Christmas to save his soul and bring a little more joy to the world. This movie maintains that structure while leaning into the horror aspect and making some minor changes and additions. For example, the movie does not begin after Marley’s death, there is a scene with Marley alive showing how he and Scrooge get along. The movie fills in some other details that normally get a passing mention, and the ending is slightly different from most versions I remember, but I think it works perfectly and keeps with the spirit of the original story.

Obviously, the big draw of this movie will likely be Johnny Depp. He is perfect as Ebenezer. He is not too over the top like some of his other characters (i.e. Jack Sparrow), but he does still have his charm and makes the role entertaining to watch despite having seen countless other adaptations. Not sure if this was deliberate, but I enjoyed the nod to Depp’s first role in A Nightmare on Elm Street (Scrooge gets pulled into his bed like Glen in Elm Street, though no blood pours out in this movie).

The horror elements were a nice touch; the Ghost of Christmas Past was especially creepy. I flinched at an unexpected jump scare, and I was impressed by how well it worked. All the visual effects and cinematography were stunning and well worth seeing it in a theater. The only element I maybe could’ve done without was the onscreen Stave titles breaking up the sections (and flow of the movie); they follow the book, sure, but they are more useful in a book and not as useful in a movie. When the Ghost of Christmas Present arrived for the third stave, I spent much of his introduction waiting for the stave title to appear onscreen instead of fully enjoying the scene. Still, that minor issue is tolerable and did not diminish my overall enjoyment of this soon to be Christmas classic.