Johnny Depp brings humor, pathos and eerie intensity to Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s horror-tinged adaptation of A Christmas Carol. With terrifying ghosts and a director who knows exactly when to unsettle, warm and surprise, Ebenezer is a Christmas classic reborn for troubled times.
The definitive Christmas film for troubled times is here: Ebenezer is coming to cinemas.
Johnny Depp pulls on the “armor” and disappears into the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, the world-famous Holiday-hater.
He walks and talks as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He thinks people don’t deserve Christmas.
Especially the penniless.
But Ebenezer’s heart is about to change, unless he has a heart attack, as the horrifying Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future are about to visit him.
American director Ti West, a visionary craftsman of horror, pushes the viewer to the limits of suspense, but just as you think you’re about to collapse, he sprinkles the story with humor or warmth or both. Or maybe he will jolt you again.
Video: Paramount Pictures
The ghosts are the scariest in any film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, but West has a good sense of timing and is confident enough not to pile on the shocks just to show off. After all, he’s got nothing to prove. Watch the X trilogy if you dare.
Depp’s childhood ritual was watching the fantastic 1951 black-and-white film adaptation Scrooge starring Alastair Sim, yet Depp doesn’t make any attempt to copy Sim’s performance.
This is Johnny Depp in peak form, wickedly funny and quietly wounded. Ebenezer is 100% Johnny Depp; whether in humor or pathos, his portrayal of the pickled ol’ skinflint is a masterclass in acting.
Ebenezer Scrooge has armored himself against the hurt and pain of the world. He’s hardheadedly resistant to change even in the face of everlasting hell, but something in his eyes reveals that he may yet be able to save himself.
Humbug? Nothing in Ebenezer could be further from that.
‘Ebenezer’ opens in cinemas on November 13.
FILM DETAILS
Title: Ebenezer
Running time: 115 minutes
Cast: Johnny Depp, Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Charlie Murphy, Tramell Tillman, Ian McKellen
Director: Ti West
Producer: Emma Watts, p.g.a.
Screen writer: Nathaniel Halpern
Genre: Fantasy
Studio: Paramount Pictures
TONY ÖHBERG’S CUT is the founder’s personal film-review label for sharp, voice-driven takes on cinema, from wholehearted praise to outright rejection.