A well sung carol

A Christmas Carol(IMAX 3D)
Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn , Bob Hoskins
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: * * * ½
U/A

A moral fable, this Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 novella has been adapted for  the small and big screens time and again (over the years)- but never before in such dark and distinctly adult fashion.

It is a story that has great resonance during Christmas, a tale of redemption where Ebenezer Scrooge(Carrey),who begrudges his ever-suffering clerk Bob Crachit(Gary Oldman) a Christmas holiday and also refuses a Christmas dinner invitation from his nephew Fred(Colin Firth) becomes haunted by three ghosts who present him with emotionally telling snapshots of his past, present and future.

The bleak picture gives the grumpy old grouch some food for thought which eventually leads to his seeing the error of his antisocial ways. This is a fairy tale of sorts set in an industrial England when class distinctions were prominent.

From Polar Express to Beowulf and now A Christmas Carol, Zemeckis has wielded motion/performance capture technology with such finesse that it’s truly difficult to find a shabby off-putting moment in the entire narrative. The aerial sequences are brilliantly rendered, the characters though essentially toonish in nature appear closer to real life and every frame is effectively detailed.

The specters that torment Scrooge throughout his nightlong ordeal are pretty frightening too. But all that technique is just not enough to hold your attention throughout. There’s a certain visual regality to the entire span of narrative but it lacks a soul that one can connect to. The toon’ish nature of the characters make them less interesting. They appear to lack solidity and the emotional connect is never forthcoming. 

A character like Tiny Tim, central to the original story, had an all too brief presence, not long  enough to be recognized or evoke sympathy . Zemeckis creates a mood that draws you in intermittently. He is even smart enough to use Andre Boccelli’s voice at the end credits, to hold you in the theatre for that much more time.

His take is effectively gimmicky no doubt, yet it has it’s fulfilling moments. You can’t help but be awestruck by the manner in which technology plays such a super-important role in the film even negating the need for actors. A Christmas Carol is certainly worthy of high-praise for it’s technique alone!