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A Christmas Carol: (2019) FX Version

This version of A Christmas Carol will wind up this season of Christmas Movie Reviews, and what a season it has been! Classified as at 3 part TV mini-series, this variant is a 3-hour-long movie that is available from FX, Xfinity and several other streaming services like Hulu, Fubo and Sling. This one is worth seeking out. More about this later.

See the link at the end of the article for the link to the full movie on YouTube.

Anyone who follows my reviews in even a cursory fashion will know that I love the Dicken’s classic, A Christmas Carol. I have watched and reviewed most all the relevant versions, with the possible exception of some of the Hallmark dreck. I have enjoyed most renditions and anticipated this one, but nothing in the trailers or my imagination prepared me for the devastating excellence of this FX edition.

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Furthermore, I’m going to get the negative out of the way first. There were many reviews that complained about the references to sex, the profanity, and the fact that this version strayed off the story line path of the original Charles Dicken’s work. Some even whined about Steven Graham’s accent. To this, I say, “Bah-Humbug!” What the FX version did is burn the original story to the ground, and rebuild it into a much greater and moving story of my favorite Christmas movie classic.

I’m not going to hold back any longer. This FX near-masterpiece was beyond wonderful, and what they did with this iconic story just blew my mind. I am going to keep spoilers to a minimum, so read with confidence as I take you on a wonderful journey through what may be the best A Christmas Carol ever.

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This is not your grandmother’s A Christmas Carol. Sure, most of the original characters and story line remain intact, but the writers and director took full advantage of the 3-hour run-time to develop the story and the characters like never before. This film was released on Dec. 19th and I have already watched it 3 times. That’s right, 9 hours of viewing, and it held my attention for every single minute. This will undoubtedly be a long review, because I have a lot to say about this one and its characters.

Ebeneezer Scrooge: I wrote my first review of A Christmas Carol almost 15 years ago. I have consistently been a defender and supporter of Scrooge’s business practices. His mistreatment and the shameless coercion by Spirits and well-meaning clerks and relatives was a disgrace. Not in this version! Scrooge was played magnificently by Guy Pearce, of L.A. Confidential and Memento fame. For almost 3 hours, we view Scrooge as a sadistic sociopath with OCD. Even his horrific and abusive childhood cannot begin to excuse his behavior in this film. The character development was outright astonishing. We get to see exactly why Scrooge was the way he was.

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Jacob Marley: Portrayed brilliantly by Stephen Graham, who was also in The Irishman, we get to see Marley’s character in much more depth than any other version in existence. From the shocking first scene in the cemetery to the bizarre and terrifying forest of spent Christmas trees and forgotten dreams, the chain-bound Marley is on a mission. This mission is for his own redemption and release from Purgatory. This Jacob Marley does not disappear after his visit to Scrooge’s musty chambers. Oh, no. He sticks around.

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Bob Cratchit: Far from being the usual docile toady of a miser’s clerk, this Bob Cratchit, acted by Joe Alwyn (The Favourite) has some spirit. He too, is a perfectionist, but unlike Scrooge, he has heart and a conscience. His seething resentment and hatred of Scrooge is not cloaked or hidden. Bob Cratchit is still the devoted father and husband, but this Cratchit has a backbone.

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Mary Cratchit: Hang on to your Christmas goose and pudding, folks. Just a bit player in most of the other versions, the character of Mrs. Cratchit (Vinette Robinson) is fully developed in this great film. All the other versions only show her brief outbursts of anger and vitriol directed at Ebeneezer Scrooge. However, in this FX version, we find out the reason why she hates Scrooge with such a white-hot passion.

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The Spirits: The presentation of The Spirits is a brilliant example of how this rendition was embellished and lifted to a higher level. I won’t spoil the surprise, but Ebeneezer Scrooge was visited by FIVE, not four Spirits on that fateful Christmas Eve night. All The Spirits, except for one, were terrifying. Scrooge was an uncaring rock of indifference and cruelty, but he crumbled under the relentless barrage of these specters of redemption. The legendary Andy Serkis was The Ghost of Christmas Past in a powerful and unforgettable performance.

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Tiny Tim: Not only was Tiny Tim crippled, but he was a misshapen dwarf as well. No punches were pulled with this movie, and we get to witness in horrifying detail the reason for his demise. As in the other films about our favorite miser, Tiny Tim is the catalyst that turns Scrooge around, but never have the events surrounding his death been more devastating.

The FX A Christmas Carol is by far the most complete and watchable adaptation ever. This is not for kids or the squeamish. The acting and character development were brilliant, and the cinematography was breathtaking. The film was in color, but at times the darkness and bleakness make you think you are watching it in black and white. The changes to the original story are not subtle, and notable omissions are references to Old Fezziwig and the Christmas dinner scene at nephew Fred’s house. It was well worth it as the extra scenes and twists, as well as a deep look into Scrooge’s dark past, were riveting.

A Christmas Carol' Cast Guide: Who's Who in FX's Holiday Mini ...

I heartily recommend this splendid new addition to the Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Guy Pearce is a younger, more handsome Scrooge, but there has never been a Scrooge more ruthless or uncaring. The side stories with Scrooge and Marley, cutting a swath through the English countryside of business, were shocking. There was clearly no OSHA back in 1843. Scrooge and Marley were loathed, and rightfully so. This is a beautiful film, and one that you will never forget.

The full movie is available on YouTube

10.0+/10.0 With The Goatesians Rating Of One of The Best A Christmas Carols Ever Made.

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4 responses to “A Christmas Carol: (2019) FX Version”

  1. Tifftastict Avatar
    Tifftastict

    It was nice to see a critic say something nice about this version. My favorite version has always been the 1938 black and white, Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. It’s barely over an hour long. I grew to love this version as a child because the spirit of Christmas Present always scared me for some reason with his 1800 siblings, lol. As a young adult and film student, I found a new love and appreciation for all the elements I took for granted before. From the acting, to the “new” special effects, to the set design… I just found it all fascinating. After having my daughter in 2008, I purchased that version. I made it my own little tradition on Christmas Eve, when everyone’s gone to bed and I’m up wrapping the last few gifts and stuffing the stocking, to watch this version – on repeat if need be, till the job was done. The way he smiles at the gooses head swinging back and forth after just being fired, it changed it whole outlook, his whole mood. I look forward to that part every time.
    Fast Forward to 2019. By chance, my husband and I happen to see a preview for FX presents A Christmas Carol. Not realizing how long it was, my husband hit play. I don’t know when he passed out but I not only watched it all the way through, I watched it again right after.
    It was such a different take on Scrooge. No one ever explained why Scrooge was the way he was. His back story, his origin story, if you will, was short… he went to a boarding school and in all the other movies he liked it and had friends. He just didn’t like being stuck there… and now we know why.
    My husband ended up watching it over and felt the same way. Felt that Scrooge’s back story explains a lot. The lessons that his father taught him that needed to be untaught and basically being sold to the school master to wave school fees… that would darken anyone’s heart.
    I found this version to be much more relatable. I saw some critics complaining that “of course there would an element of wokeism”. That pissed me off. They referenced that of course the slaves were black… there were a few, but most of the people being over worked and under paid were white men, women, and children… and horses. They complained that of course the rich men were made villainous… when aren’t they in reality. They danced around the interracial marriage between Bob and Mary Cratchit… but that was a complaint in the wokeism bucket as well. After reading those critiques I just stared at their words disgusted. There were so many things that could be discussed about this film (i know it says mini series but who are we fooling) and none of them needed to be those points… and they were weak points at best.
    I loved the almost black and white look to the film. It made it feel cold and lonely when at Scrooges house or at his business. But when the scene shifts to the Cratchit residence, things have a warm glow and coziness to them, a feeling of family and warmth.
    This version has become both my husband and I’s favorite Christmas movie.

    Reply
    1. Andre Darin Avatar
      Andre Darin

      This adaptation, I think, will be long gone after the Alistair Sim adaptation of 1951 keeps chugging along almost 75 years after its theatrical release. I believe this to be true because the only place you can watch it today is on YouTube.

      Yes, many will remember it but I don’t think for the rhapsodic reasons you found captivating. It will be remembered for its excesses of artistic license by the script writers. Scrooge as a kid molested by the headmaster? Cratchett’s wife as a necromancer? The promiscuous use of profanity and nudity? The decapitation of a mouse?

      Most importantly, this reimagination did not merely “burn the original to the ground”; it built a high-rise where a cathedral stood. Gone is the timeless charm of the original and most of all the beautiful language with which Dickens told his story.

      “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.

      Would it have killed the writers to have used more than a hundred words of Dickens’ wondrous prose?

      As I pondered FX’s “A Christmas Carol”, it became apparent to me that the writers had entirely missed the point: this is a Christmas story.
      Why would Dickens peel back the layers of Scrooge’s misanthropy by showing him such scenes? His nephew tells us why the first time we see him:

      “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say. Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

      The obvious, glaring, insurmountable problem with FX’;s “A Christmas Carol” is that it is really not about Christmas at all. It could have been the story of a sociopath visited by three ghosts on Halloween or July 4th.

      I’m thinking now of an expert from Thackery’s review in 1833

      “It was a blessed inspiration that put such a book into the head of Charles Dickens. A happy inspiration of the heart that warms every page. It is impossible to read without a glowing bosom and burning cheeks, between love and shame
      of our kind.”

      This is what Dickens hoped to achieve. Where is the warmth in FX’s production? The inspiration that warms every scene?

      Had I now known otherwise I might have thought Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed this.

      A Christmas story? Not even close.

      Reply
      1. Goat Avatar
        Goat

        Thank you for your thorough reply. What is the purpose of a movie? To be totally faithful to the source material, or to entertain?

        Reply
  2. Goat Avatar
    Goat

    Thank you for reading my review and commenting. The 1951 version with Alastair Sim also reveals a more thorough back story than the other Scrooge classics. Here is the link to my review https://www.ruthlessreviews.com/features/a-christmas-carol-1951/

    It is free to watch on Youtube and other streaming devices.

    Reply

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