Patrick Stewart's Christmas Carol on TNT
A Christmas Carol may not be the most frequently filmed story of all time, but it is certainly in the top two. From 1910, when the earliest-known version was filmed, to the most recent incarnation on TNT, this tale of Scrooge and the spirits of Christmas has become an integral element of every December.
What the most striking about these productions is how little they stray from the original. The Robert Halmi, Sr./Patrick Stewart edition now on the Turner network, however, is the truest of them all. Thanks to the wonders of CGI, it offers the supernatural elements most earlier films left out, preferring to take the easy road by focusing on Marley's ghost and the three spirits that followed him.
Patrick Stewart has had more than ample practice at portraying Dickens is mean-spirited skinflint. In 1989, and then every year from 1991 to 1996, he has done A Christmas Carol as a one-man show. Actually having other actors to work with, he told Parade magazine, allowed him to create greater depth of emotion.
"The rage is more intense," he told James Brady, "Because now I'm not out there alone on stage but looking into the eyes and face of another human being. "
Peter Barnes's script is taken almost verbatim from the novel, which makes for good points and bad ones. Some of Dickens's dialogue is too Victorian to be followed easily, and the only reason it works here is that the brilliant cast of Brits handles it with consummate skill.
Roger Hall's sets are perfectly matched to the moods of the scenes performed in them. Scrooge's office and chambers are as dark and drab as his spirit, while no effort is made to soften the shabby poverty of Bob Cratchit's home. Both backgrounds and costumes use earth tones--dark greens, creamy tans, muted grays, warm browns--that make the bright splashes of holly red and evergreen leap out and demand attention. The subdued shades also create a backdrop against which Scrooge, in his unyielding black, stands out in stark relief.
Director David Jones wisely remains unobtrusive, letting his skilled actors tell the story and keeping the special effects in their place. Equally important, he and Barnes have retained Dickens's wry humor, an element that sometimes gets lost in the seasonal schmalz.
My only complaint with this production is such a small one, I'm almost ashamed to mention it. However, the excellent quality of the special effects and the costuming made it all the more disappointing. The towering figure of Christmas
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