THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS

Yes. This is a thoroughly delightful, enthralling movie about Charles Dickens creating A Christmas Carol under intense financial and personal pressure. It is filled with laughter, tears, brilliance, and good will toward men.

Dan Stevens gives a magnificent, exuberant performance as Dickens. The movie’s ingenious idea of having Dickens interact with his fictional characters makes the writing process lively while also illuminating his troubled relationship with his father. The story celebrates Christmas, redemption, generosity, and the biblical sentiment of “Peace on Earth, good will toward men.”

The only significant concern is that some scenes may frighten younger children. For older children and adults, this is an excellent choice for Thanksgiving or the Christmas season.

In 1843, Charles Dickens is struggling with writer’s block, financial pressure, and the failure of his latest novel. He needs another hit, but publishers refuse to advance money for a Christmas book.

Then a ghost story told in his home sparks an idea. As Dickens begins writing A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge and other characters come alive in his imagination and speak back to him. At the same time, Dickens must face the return of his irresponsible father and painful memories from his childhood.

Four stars means this is an exceptional film, and the praise is deserved. The Man Who Invented Christmas is delightful, brilliant, and enthralling from beginning to end.

Dan Stevens gives a marvelous performance as Charles Dickens, while Christopher Plummer delivers a lively performance as the cantankerous Ebenezer Scrooge. The filmmakers make the writing process visually and dramatically engaging by having Dickens interact with his characters. Those characters also comment on Dickens’ personal story, creating lively discussions and several powerful scenes from A Christmas Carol.

The movie presents a strong Christian and moral worldview centered on Christmas, generosity, responsibility, reconciliation, and redemption. It celebrates the biblical sentiment of the Birth of Christ, “Peace on Earth, good will toward men,” and shows that anyone can lift another person’s burden.

The story also presents Dickens’ struggle with his father as a moral and spiritual challenge. Scrooge points out that Dickens’ attitude toward his father can be as miserly as Scrooge’s attitude toward accumulating wealth. Dickens must confront his estrangement from his father and remember the lesson that his father taught him: anyone can lift the burden of another person.

The movie is not an evangelical treatise on salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. Still, it presents redemption as central to both A Christmas Carol and Dickens’ own story. The father and Tiny Tim use the blessing, “God bless us, everyone!”

The film also contains strong capitalist content, slightly mitigated by a joke about the “unseen hand” of the free-market system. Overall, it is a warm celebration of Christmas and the power of good will. Scripture says, “and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).

This is a brilliant, heartfelt celebration of Christmas, with an exuberant performance by Dan Stevens and a moving story of creativity, reconciliation, and redemption. Younger children may find some scenes frightening, but older children and adults should find it deeply rewarding. WORTH THE TRIP.