As you know, A Christmas Carol is my favorite genre of Christmas Movies and I have already watched and reviewed at least 16 versions of this venerable classic. This version is a low budget but more than adequate re-telling that is set in modern-day Scotland.
This Ebeneezer Scrooge (Stuart Brennan) is a young and wildly successful entrepreneur who has developed an online distillery where buyers can blend their own whiskeys. This Scrooge is every bit as stingy and ruthless as his older counterparts as he terminates employees on Christmas Eve and eliminates Christmas bonuses to give his precious company a Trumpian-type tax write-off.
As you might guess, this modern version has some variations from the original Dicken’s story. Scrooge is the nephew and Fred is the kindly uncle. Cratchit is not Scrooge’s male clerk, but his female personal assistant with a husband, Tim, gravely ill with cancer.
As with all other versions, Scrooge is visited by the spirits, reflects on his miserable life, and experiences redemption. The fired workers are re-hired, the bonuses restored, and Scrooge is re-united with his former fiance.
For an extremely low-budget film, this version was well made and well acted. Special effects were almost non-existent and the movie had a frugal run time of 1 hr. and 15 minutes. For all Christmas Carol fanatics, this one is another good version to catch.
7.0/10.0 With A Goatesians Rating Of Certainly Worth A Watch.