What to know
- Ebenezer, starring Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge, opened in theatres Nov. 13.
- The film is directed by Ti West, with a screenplay by Nathaniel Halpern.
- Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley and Sam Claflin co-star.
There have been close to 150 film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. Undoubtedly, the best-known include the 1938 eponymous film starring Reginald Owen and, perhaps the most popular, the 1951 Scrooge, starring Alastair Sim in the lead role, which usually airs on TV right about now, throughout the Christmas season.
There was also the 1970 version starring Albert Finney, Disney’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol, featuring Scrooge McDuck, and Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol. The late Patrick Stewart starred in the simply titled A Christmas Carol in 1999, and a decade later, Jim Carrey took a shot at it. There have been many more since. In this decade alone, we’ve had an animated dance version, an animated musical A Christmas Carol with Luke Evans, and Spirited, starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.
So… do we really need another one?
Wherever you stand on that question, the new Ebenezer, starring Johnny Depp, is a cautionary supernatural parable that showcases his talent for accents, Scrooge-y grumpiness, and, ultimately, screen dominance. There are moments when his performance feels unscripted whether he’s being excessively curmudgeonly or displaying over-the-top fright at the ghosts and ghouls.
Opening in theatres Nov. 13, this starring role is Depp’s first in some time, following the very public 2022 defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, in which the jury ruled largely in his favour.
Since then, he has devoted considerable time to music, touring with his rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires, alongside Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, and collaborating with the late Jeff Beck on their 2022 album, 18. He has also performed with Rod Stewart at a charity event in London, joined Andrea Bocelli on stage in Italy, and made surprise appearances with Patti Smith at tribute concerts in New York and London.
He has also continued painting, with a month-long art exhibition at London’s Halcyon Gallery, which comes to an end this weekend.
So Ebenezer represents Depp’s big return — and an immediate reminder from the moment he graces the screen that he is an exceptional actor, carrying the film, despite the stellar and crucial supporting roles.
Directed by Ti West, with a screenplay by Nathaniel Halpern, Ebenezer follows the familiar Victorian-era British story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his visits from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. That is a given. But like many adaptations, it takes liberties with Dickens’ original and the Alastair Sim film, this one giving us more of Jacob Marley (he’s not dead yet) and more backstory on how Scrooged became the miser we all know.
There are some laugh-out-loud moments, where it’s him falling with a thud back in bed, his exaggerated fright at the ghosts and ghouls or even his sudden change of heart, shocking the townspeople. It’s not quite a black comedy – it would need to be blacker for that.
While younger than some of the Scrooges we’ve seen on screen, Depp’s character is still old and almost unrecognizable beneath the makeup.
SPOILER AHEAD.
Interestingly, we get to see Scrooge’s softer side, along with a backstory involving his drunken, abusive father, his loving and sweet sister, and a beautiful girlfriend he loses because of his dogged pursuit of wealth and business success.
The film also features Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, young Freddie Lee-Grey as Tiny Tim, Andrea Riseborough as the gaunt and creepy Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the gluttonous Ghost of Christmas Present, and Robert Strange as the ominous Ghost of Christmas Future. Ian McKellen plays Jacob Marley, while Sam Claflin plays Fred, and Daisy Ridley his wife, Emily. Arthur Conti appears as young Ebenezer and Ellie Bamber as Belle.
So, do we really need another version of A Christmas Carol? Perhaps not. But with Depp inhabiting the role so gloriously, Ebenezer makes a pretty good argument for three more visits to the past, present and future of our Christmas spirits.
