There is Christmas cheer that is not especially cheerful and no jingle bells to be heard. However, the phrase Bah-humbug rings a bell throughout Ebenezer. There aren’t many positive holiday vibes in Ebenezer which has the right tone of writing for its lead character Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Johnny Depp. This movie was positioned to signify redemption after Depp’s absence from the screen due to court battles with his former spouse Amber Heard. Unfortunately, Ebenezer is ridiculous even though Depp plays the role of a cranky Ebenezer Scrooge quite well. Still, the film is a total blur because of the way it fails to achieve anything serious.
The plot is as follows. Ebenezer Scrooge is extremely cranky, lacks generosity, and despises Christmas. His colleague Jacob Marley is played by Ian McKellen. After Marley’s death, many ghosts come into Scrooge’s life and encourage him to love Christmas. Because of the hatred in his heart, the journey is harder. Thanks to the ghosts’ reminders of what life is like, Scrooge begins to open his heart.
There are people in Scrooge’s life that help him along the way. This is where the writing in the film is relatively good in spite of most of it being disastrous. The nephew of Scrooge is Fred, played by Sam Claflin. The co-worker of Scrooge is Bob Cratchit, played by Rupert Grint. These two individuals see the quiet goodness in Scrooge.Their characters help him come out of his shell which does not work out entirely well.
Many scenes and Depp’s performance are all over the place. I felt like I was seeing him in Captain Jack Sparrow mode, but set in the winter. Of course, this story includes scenarios in which he is dealing with the public and not out at sea. Regardless, Depp plays the role well. It is the lack of meaningful continuity that makes the film an utter disaster.
Although there is an attempt to conjure up the holiday spirit, the director also does everything possible to keep the atmosphere as serious as possible. This does not work for Ebenezer. Throughout the film, Scrooge repeatedly finds himself in places where the film does not feel so magical. It is like a dramatic death trap that makes for a boring experience for viewers. Expect very little holiday cheer and a lot of boredom. The Christmas Spirit does not light up Ebenezer which was quite disappointing.
Since the film was directed by Ti West, I had some faith before I saw it. I do give him some credit for trying to build a promising foundation. In the end, the film failed at finding meaning. Ebenezer is not the Christmas Carol the world knows and loves. While an attempt was made to take the classic in a new direction, the writing simply did not deliver. One-and-a-half out of four stars for Ebenezer.
