I can’t quite believe this is only the second version of this film I have seen this December. I am seriously slacking. ‘Scrooge’ (1970) is a film that I am quite surprised that I never even knew existed. I mean it is a musical based on ‘A Christmas Carol’ starring Daddy Warbucks himself, how could I possibly have never heard of this. Well, I have heard of and seen it now so it is another film version of this story that I can tick off the list. I have enjoyed the vast majority of those film versions, will this one keep up the trend? I can’t believe I am doing this again, but the film tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge (Albert Finney), a cruel man who has a huge disdain for Christmas. On one fated Christmas Eve, he is visited by the spirit of his old business partner, Jacob Marley (Alec Guinness), who tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts that night in an attempt to warm his cold heart with the magic of Christmas.
My immediate reaction to this film is that I didn’t enjoy it. But I would also not say that it is a bad film. I think overall it succeeds in what it is attempting to do and, while it has its issues, it is a fine film that I just happened to not particularly like. There are two main reasons for this which I will get to later, but for now, I will focus on what the film does well. Where this film really succeeds in its production design and mise en scene. The film does a brilliant job in creating a world that feels like it is full of life and it gives off the atmosphere of being London in the 1800s, while always being visually interesting. Everything from the sets, costumes, and even just in the number of extras that the film has, it really does feel like a living and breathing London. There are also a lot of great visuals throughout, with the best example of this being with the introduction of the Ghost of Christmas Present who is sat magnificently on top a pile of treasures. It is a grand and beautiful visual which is one of the more memorable visuals in the film. Also, there is a scene in this film that I have never seen in any other version of this film and it was surprising and so mental that I kind of loved it. And that is a scene in which Scrooge literally goes to hell. I am not kidding; he is literally in hell. It comes out of nowhere and I kind of love it.
Now, the reason I didn’t really enjoy this film is because it is a musical based on ‘A Christmas Carol’ where the music is mostly pretty crap, and I don’t like the performance of Scrooge. They are two pretty key aspects to the film which underwhelmed for me. Let’s start with the music. Not all of it is bad. There are two songs which I liked, with one of those songs being bloody brilliant. The first is ‘December the 25th’ which is a fun, if not particularly strong musical number. Then there is ‘Thank You Very Much’ which is fantastic, and I have had stuck in my head since I watched the film (I am actually listening to at this very moment). Not only is it a brilliant song, so much so that it appears twice in the film, but the scene in which it is first performed is one of the best in the film. It is the scene in the film which finally has it feeling like a proper musical, mixing great choreography to a grand scale that isn’t seen otherwise in the film and it is the pinnacle of film. But apart from these two the songs are so unbelievably forgettable, and I would go so far as to say bad. That is an opinion which is easy to explain, my opinion on Albert Finney’s performance is a little harder. I truly think that it is a good performance. He is consistent with the way he portrays Scrooge from the beginning to the end and he captures the emotion of the film well in each scene. But he plays Scrooge a little cartoonish. Everything from how he holds himself to his voice (bloody hell the voice) feels more like the character is a caricature of cruelty rather than a man who is cruel and intimidating. So, a good performance for what he is trying to do, but it didn’t work for me.
My feelings for this film feel really muddled. In a way, I respect it and feel like it is a good film, but I also did not have a particularly good time watching it. I mean it is a musical called ‘Scrooge’ where I don’t like the majority of the music and I don’t like the portrayal of Scrooge, so it was always going to be an uphill battle. Saying that though I would still recommend it. There is enough good in there and I’m sure other people would like the things in it which I didn’t. If you do you’re probably on to a winner.
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