Summer isn’t even technically over (but, let’s be honest, after Labor Day, it’s over) but aside from wishing it were still couth to wear white pants and getting our Halloween costumes in order, we’re likely starting to think about the holiday season and all of its trappings. For most people, watching some version of Charles Dickens‘ seminal 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, is a given, and it just wouldn’t be that time of year without Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and all those durn ghosts. A new film looks to illustrate the writer’s difficulties in coming up with that timeless story in The Man Who Invented Christmas.
Directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by Susan Coyne from a book by Les Standiford, The Man Who Invented Christmas is a comedic, fantastical tale of Charles Dickens (played by Dan Stevens) desperately trying to come up with a story to make his publishers happy. Imagine being Dickens, who at 31 had already written Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, and The Old Curiosity Shop (three of his biggest hits ever), and then to come up with a major case of writer’s block. You too might need a Christmas miracle.
On top of Stevens’ charmingly befuddled performance as Dickens, we’re pretty excited to see Christopher Plummer assay the role of Scrooge, but in the mode of Grumpy Christmas Muse, which is something I don’t think anyone has ever thought about saying. Also, we can spot Simon Callow in the trailer, who is one of the world’s foremost Dickens scholars, did a very popular one-man show in which he starred as Dickens, and even played Dickens on an episode of Doctor Who. So if he’s signed off on it, it’s got to be good.
The Man Who Invented Christmas hits theaters November 22. Are you jazzed to see young Charles Dickens in the form of Dan Stevens? Let us know in the comments below!
Image: Bleeker Street
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
