Entertainment Bay

Get past the unremittingly ugly visual style and A Christmas Carol surprises. It surprises for its fidelity to its 166-year-old source. It surprises for its sombreness of tone and reflective engagement of regret and atonement. But what will really have you asking “What the Dickens?” come Christmas morning is why Robert Zemeckis’ latest motion-captured dispatch from the uncanny valley is being pushed as a gaudy, slapstick-stuffed thrill ride — excepting a handful of unfortunate lapses, at heart, it’s somewhat more noble than that.

‘Ugly’ might be a touch unfair, but Zemeckis’ spartan commitment to a technology that’s yet to close the ground between his ambitions and its own limitations detracts from an otherwise faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ oft-filmed literary classic. While the overtly fantastical Beowulf, with its dragons and sea serpents and sexed-up Angelina Jolie-as-succubus, was a befitting candidate for the entirely mo-cap-animated treatment Zemeckis first investigated with The Polar Express, A Christmas Carol is markedly less so. Cutting an entire synthetic reality from the same digital cloth makes sense when dealing with an abundance of pixel-grinding creatures of feature — if man, monster and mountainside all co-exist in the same computer-conjured cosmos, discerning the seams becomes a moot point.

It’s an argument which holds considerably less egg nog when applied to the well-worn story of Dickens’ miserly misanthrope, Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey). The spirits of A Christmas Carol don’t pose the logistical challenge of, say, Beowulf’s Grendel, so the decision to eschew live-action altogether feels like an obvious grab for the ubiquitous computer-generated bandwagon. And while Zemeckis revels in the dizzying freedom afforded his virtual lens (pay special attention to the ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’ segment), such liberty increases the allure of ‘look ma, no limits!’ capability-strutting braggadocio. Vertiginous flights across the skyline of Victorian London amply demonstrate the technology in full, soaring flight. Overpacking a rushed third act with a gratuitous chase sequence feels more like the candy cane that broke Rudolph’s back.

Close-ups on Carrey’s digitally-ripened mug, however, suggest that in five years’ time, Zemeckis’ methods might match pace with his madness. There’s no question that the characters of A Christmas Carol are, by and large, as aesthetically appealing as dropped mince pies, but glimmers of brilliance occasionally shine through the clunky, cold patina of ‘art imitating life — oddly.’

With Dickens’ yuletide staple so well-loved, it’s wise of Zemeckis’ screenplay to do things by the book. Slabs of dialogue are lifted straight from the page, and the story retains all of its chilling solemnity, commencing with Carrey’s parsimonious grump pocketing coins from the eyes of dead man. Things get so intense, in fact, that 3-D encounters with Marley’s ghost and the shrouded shadow that’s the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come could have tykes hurling the specs off and trembling under their seats. Which does pose the pertinent question of exactly who this is aimed at. Had he jettisoned the child’s play and pitched directly for the Beowulf bracket, Zemeckis’ innovative technological noodling might have been more readily palatable.

Where Zemeckis improves on screen Christmas-es past is by casting each of the seasonal spectres as projections of Scrooge’s own self. Aside from garnishing his Christmas Carol with a vibrant red ribbon thematically, it affords his adaptable leading man a chance to remind us he’s arguably the most under-utilised star in Hollywood today, portraying no less than seven roles with characteristic chameleonic ease. The elderly Scrooge is, oddly, his second time inhabiting a Christmas curmudgeon following Dr Seuss’ green meanie in The Grinch. Subdued and allowed to unwrap the pathos, he’s more memorable here than he’s been in the flesh for half a decade. Elsewhere, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth are casualties of less convincing animation, along with the rest of the largely featureless (though recognisable) support cast.

We probably didn’t need another take on the world’s most famous story of personal epiphany, and there’s no denying Zemeckis’ eerie motion-capture animated stylings still make for emotionally frosty affairs. As such, A Christmas Carol’s lasting impression is more that of a collection of well-intentioned and eye-catching stocking stuffers: appreciated, but this won’t fulfill your Christmas wishlist — nor will it inspire the earthy affection of the gift made with love and by hand. Which positions the film as something of a letdown. A failure, but a noble one, then.

DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis
SCREENWRITER: Robert Zemeckis
CAST: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, Carey Elwes, Bob Hoskins
RATING: PG
RUN TIME: 96 minutes