The Man Who Invented Christmas: Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas was dead on: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.

Bleeker Street, by way of a fantastic performance from Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens, transports moviegoers to 1840s London as the novelist struggles to pen another great piece of literature. The pages slowly come together rather interestingly as Dickens' own past comes back to haunt him. The end result: a stirring tribute to how A Christmas Carol came to be -- a book that not only became a classic still revered today, but one that forever changed how we celebrate Christmas.

Dickens wrote in his enduring story: "There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor." And we know the healing it can bring (Proverbs 17:22). Stevens is brilliant casting in the role of the famed author. The Downton Abbey star offers pure heart and comedy, giving us a glimpse into the soul and wit of Dickens. And when Christopher Plummer appears as Scrooge, along with his other spirited costars, this family film transcends expectations.

Timeless. That's what Dickens' Christmas tale has become. It's what The Man Who Invented Christmas will be for many families, Anglophiles, and fans of the classics. (And if you've ever wondered what it is like inside the mind of a creative writer -- see The Man Who Invented Christmas.)

Rated PG for thematic elements and some mild language, this film doesn't do much that warrants caution for most ages. However, it does include a few moments that may be a little too intense for younger audiences (under the age of 6).

With the plentiful catalog of classic Christmas movies already available on streaming and Blu-ray, is The Man Who Invented Christmas truly worth the extravagant price of theater admission? Yes. The end.