Proving once again that he has a versatility that stretches beyond puerile mugging and saying "alright-y then", Jim Carrey manages to fox the viewer brilliantly with a wonderfully, crotchety Scrooge. From his first act -to pay for Marley's undertaking with those pennies intended for his recently deceased's safe passage across the Styx - he comes across as repulsive, warped and irredeemable. Marley enjoys his revenge, however, with a truly terrifying turn from Gary Oldman as he reveals to the miser his final chance of salvation before rejoining the, now terrifyingly visible, phantoms that roam the city streets tormented by a desire to help but an inability to do so.
Carrey is then, somewhat amusingly, at the mercy of himself as he provides the voices and motions of all three spirits. Christmas Past is brilliantly captured in all his child-like luminescence while Christmas Present is suitably kind yet firm, once you get past the fact Carrey cannot quite decide if he's playing a character from Yorkshire, Scotland or just simply Brian Blessed. Only the Ghost of Christmas Future is disappointing with the makers deciding Scrooge should become his plaything, leading to a horrendous and badly-judged chase sequence that sees Scrooge inexplicably miniaturised as he runs from deathly, black horses. Granted the studio are still very keen to show off their new 3D techniques and the pursuit may perk up any jaded audience members, but this time could and should have been given up to a longer Christmas Present sequence. Scrooge is already emotionally drained by this point, to the extent that Christmas Future need only point him where to go, he simply does not need to be roughly whipped through the streets too.However, A Christmas Carol overall, particularly in the 3D version, crams a surprising amount into the running time, offering long, panning shots of dark, Victorian London while delivering virtually every scene from the original text in its mother tongue. This authenticity is a real testament to the producers and director who have created a real challenger to the seemingly untouchable Alastair Sim 1951 edition in this brilliant version.
This version is in cinemas now in glorious 3D - give yourself a treat and see it today.
A note: You may have noticed that I have not quite managed to keep up the bargain of one Christmas Carol per day during the month of December. Therefore, I have decided to hold it at twelve for 2009 and resume the challenge in 2010. Merry Christmas!
