Did anyone watch 2007’s Beowulf? It was the first 3D film that I saw, though the most remarkable feature it displayed was the complete mapping and virtual replication of the leading actors’ faces. Seeing Ray Winstone’s chubby head plastered onto the muscle-bound body of a mythical warrior was odd to say the least. Beowulf’s director Robert Zemeckis has carried over this style to his latest picture, A Christmas Carol. This time it’s the faces of Jim Carrey, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth and Garry Oldman that have been digitally recreated and attached to computer generated characters in yet another adaptation of the famous Dickens novel. At the world premiere in London on Tuesday all the stars were out, and after switching on the Christmas lights and causing mayhem in the streets, the focus turned to the silver screen and this latest 3D adventure.
A Christmas Carol takes a breathless sprint through the plot of the novel. The various trials posed by the three spirits are turned into over-the-top action scenes, with the audience following Scrooge as he is pulled through the past, present and future. The amount of detail that has gone into every frame and the representation of Dickensian London are impressive. In the past I have been critical of films which utilise their 3D credentials as an excuse for gimmicky sequences and unnecessary shots, but when you are being moved along at such a pace through lush surroundings and stylised vistas, it’s difficult to care.
Jim Carrey voices Scrooge with typical flare. Kids won’t notice how stilted his accent is, whilst adults might find his ‘old man’ voice distracting. Carrey also voices several other characters, including the three ghosts. These are all awful, with first the butchery of an Irish and then a Liverpudlian/Yorkshire accent to endure. The silence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is welcome when it finally arrives. The other star names are only allowed brief cameos as the focus never leaves Scrooge, which makes this a Carrey vehicle through and through. Your enjoyment of the film could well rest on how tolerable you find old Jim.
My first encounter of the Christmas Carol story was in Mickey’s Christmas Carol, which of course starred Disney’s famous mascot. I remember being scared of the ghosts and the gaping grave into which Scrooge is sucked back then, and the intensity of the 3D coupled with the overpowering audio effects make things even more disturbing this time around. A Christmas Carol is only a PG, but if you take young children expect them to have nightmares.
I quite enjoyed A Christmas Carol. Despite being slightly intoxicated by seeing rich and famous celebrities just before the screening, I do not think my reaction has been entirely biased. The tone and the pacing are gauged just right, and since most people know how the story goes the small flights of fancy which the film takes from time to time are welcome. It isn’t going to become a Christmas classic, but it just might be worth a look if you want to get into the spirit of the season a couple of months in advance.
