Given my nature and my profession, both as a teacher and as a writer of children's books, my preference is almost always for films aimed at families or children. Entertainment aimed at adults, I often find, is too grim or too disturbing, too vulgar or too focused on romance and relationships. I just don't enjoy it, regardless of what the critics say. Oh, sure, I'll go to almost any superhero movie - and fantasies are a safe bet for me, too, but realistic cinema? Historical? Biopics? No thank you.
While visiting my parents for a few days, my son requested a movie night. He's very congizant of what I like and I don't like, and humors me - at 15, he's got a much wider range of acceptable cinematic entertainment than his mother. He suggested an old favorite of both of ours - The Princess Bride - but when that was unavailable, we started scrolling through other potential options.
Our wants, as mother and son, were fairly simple - something lighthearted, with a happy ending. After watching about half a dozen trailers, with reactions ranging from a "meh" from my son to an "I don't think so" from me, we reached the trailer for The Man Who Invented Christmas. I can't say we leapt with joy at seeing it... but we both agreed that it didn't look half bad, and my parents agreed.
I loved it.
Now, granted, I know a bit about Charles Dickens from my teaching experience... I've read short biographies of the man, and while I did think the actor (cleanshaven - didn't Dickens have a moustache and beard?) looked rather young for the Dickens I pictured, I was pleased with the casting. The acting was wonderful, the script had just the right combination of laughs and serious notes, and as an exploration of a writer's process of creation, I found it spot on.
In fact, I loved that aspect of the film above all others. The notion of a character coming to life and interacting with its creator tickled me silly, since the best characters do just that with their readers. But yes, they also do that with their creators... and I howled with laughter at the point in the film where Dickens wailed protest to a friend that his characters were refusing to do what he wanted them to. I've been there myself! I loved the idea that the characters were physically following their writer around... at one point, he peeked out a window and - hello, dearie! - the characters assembled on the street corner below waved cheerfully up at him. Scrooge, the old reprobate, even had the temerity to inform Dickens that he felt the book was too one-sided, and had prepared notes to give his own perspective to the story! I'm not sure my family understood why I was giggling so much, but in many ways, this is a writer's movie, and one that nobody but a writer could truly appreciate.
If you're a reader or a writer, and you're looking for a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours on a winter's night... I'd strongly recommend The Man Who Invented Christmas. Even if it isn't the holidays anymore. It's definitely worth a viewing.