“Ebenezer” is no mere humbug as Depp dallys with Dickens
Ebenezer
Starring Johnny Depp, Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Charlie Murphy. Written by Nathaniel Halpern. Directed by Ti West. 115 minutes. PG
⭐️⭐️ 1/2 (out of 4)
Peter Howell
Movie Critic
“Ebenezer” isn’t destined to become a Christmas classic — Alastair Sim’s legacy as tight-fisted Scrooge is secure — but Johnny Depp’s dallying with Dickens is not to be missed, either.
Merry and macabre combine appealingly as Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge with pirate charm, reviving his stalled Hollywood career while redeeming the titular Yuletide misanthrope. Horrormeister Ti West (“X,” “Pearl”) directs with jump-scare aplomb.
The story hews surprisingly close to Charles Dickens' original ghost tale, “A Christmas Carol,” although West’s strolling zombie hordes also bring Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video to mind.
A fine supporting cast includes Ian McKellen as Scrooge’s equally nasty business partner Jacob Marley, Rupert Grint as overworked clerk Bob Cratchit, Daisy Ridley as Bob’s feisty wife, Andrea Riseborough as a truly creepy Ghost of Christmas Past and Tramell Tillman as a savvy Ghost of Christmas Present.
The narrative follows a familiar succession: Marley’s ghost appears in chains by the fireside on Christmas Eve, warning of what awaits Scrooge. Then come three spirits — representing Christmases past, present and future — who confront Scrooge with the suffering he ignores and the grim fate awaiting him unless he mends his ways.
A flashback to Christmas Eve seven years earlier illustrates why the spooks are bedevilling Scrooge. We see him with Marley, still very much alive, in their natural habitat: a dimly lit office filled with dusty accounting books, where making their beleaguered employee Cratchit miserable is the only pleasure they can’t put a price on.
“Ebenezer” doesn’t redefine Dickens, but the spirited collaboration of Depp and West makes it all go down like eggnog with a shot of rum.
