This is a very different adaptation of A Christmas Carol so beware if you are expecting the classic tale.
Having read nearly all of Dickens novels only once ( I refuse to read his depressing works ever again ) Christmas Carol was the only book that has a glimmer of hope.
This adaptation virtually throws that under the bus. I have read that Dickens was pressured to lighten this book due to it being set at Christmas, however this may be a myth.
Oh btw they did use the Fword back in Victorian times but to actually publish it on paper was frowned upon. Dickens did however find ways to implement both foul language and subtle ways to implement things of a sexual nature with a nudge nudge wink wink.
However as I said above this is not a tale true to the books, this is a Dickensian nightmare far worse. This is what Dickens would have wanted to write without the restraints of the time.
In this adaptation Mrs Cratchet is of mixed race, this is very viable as after the end of slavery London found itself with many black people to take care of. With Cratchet being poor but a written and learned man taking a wife of mixed race would be quite apt.
Regardless the production is excellent and the acting is excellent while haunting, the setting is dark and grim which was London of that time especially in winter, the grime and smoke of the factories making days darker than they should be.
Without giving away spoilers the story while having the same tropes is presented in a slightly different way and at times this is less of a Dickensian nightmare and more of a Dickensian Horror so be prepared.
There are also some very British political undertones rolling around here.
The Grenfell Tower incident, British Austerity and a rise in homelessness and desperation within families. They are subtle though and not thrown at you.
The UK is far from those dark times of the 18th century but there is a nudge at the social zeitgeist.
Here is my problem on a well made production, Christmas sake... Does anyone really want to be faced with this at this time of the year ??
I can be objective and subjective but sometimes I just want to be entertained and while this was interesting it left me cold and right now its cold enough.
7/10
Having read nearly all of Dickens novels only once ( I refuse to read his depressing works ever again ) Christmas Carol was the only book that has a glimmer of hope.
This adaptation virtually throws that under the bus. I have read that Dickens was pressured to lighten this book due to it being set at Christmas, however this may be a myth.
Oh btw they did use the Fword back in Victorian times but to actually publish it on paper was frowned upon. Dickens did however find ways to implement both foul language and subtle ways to implement things of a sexual nature with a nudge nudge wink wink.
However as I said above this is not a tale true to the books, this is a Dickensian nightmare far worse. This is what Dickens would have wanted to write without the restraints of the time.
In this adaptation Mrs Cratchet is of mixed race, this is very viable as after the end of slavery London found itself with many black people to take care of. With Cratchet being poor but a written and learned man taking a wife of mixed race would be quite apt.
Regardless the production is excellent and the acting is excellent while haunting, the setting is dark and grim which was London of that time especially in winter, the grime and smoke of the factories making days darker than they should be.
Without giving away spoilers the story while having the same tropes is presented in a slightly different way and at times this is less of a Dickensian nightmare and more of a Dickensian Horror so be prepared.
There are also some very British political undertones rolling around here.
The Grenfell Tower incident, British Austerity and a rise in homelessness and desperation within families. They are subtle though and not thrown at you.
The UK is far from those dark times of the 18th century but there is a nudge at the social zeitgeist.
Here is my problem on a well made production, Christmas sake... Does anyone really want to be faced with this at this time of the year ??
I can be objective and subjective but sometimes I just want to be entertained and while this was interesting it left me cold and right now its cold enough.
7/10