Ebenezer or a Lost Boy's Christmas Redemption

I’ve decided to start writing again. And what better excuse than film, one of my greatest passions, and an actor I’ve loved since I was ten? To me, Johnny Depp is a giant of an actor. For all the recognition his name gets, I still think he’s underrated for what he can do on screen. So, Mr. Johnny Depp is heading back into the dark although not as one of Tim Burton's characters. This time, Ti West is directing him, and the film comes from a book we grew up reading and rereading and rereading every Christmas. Bah, humbug! I’m talking about Ebenezer. On December 19, 1843, Charles Dickens, one of my favorite writers, published A Christmas Carol. Dickens knew how to tell a story about the faults and passions of the English society he lived in. Here he writes about poverty and the particular misery that can exist alongside wealth. There’s something almost prophetic in the way he shows us what happens when we measure the value of our lives by how much we own. The more room we make for things, the less room we leave for people, for love, for the pleasure of giving. And how empty we end up. I love how true the film stays to the spirit of Dickens. There’s the Gothic atmosphere, the grotesque, the British humor and satire, and a touch of his picaresque style. I also find something fascinating about the imperfections of his characters. Some of those figures are drawn so vividly that they become ideas in their own right. What is a Scrooge? Even in Greek, my own language, you can call someone a Scrooge and everyone knows exactly what you mean. Here’s a man who counts his money, hates to part with it, and surrounds himself with everything it can buy. The production design captures Victorian London beautifully. I love how dark it is. It’s Christmas and we ought to be celebrating, yet you can feel the cold of the city. Scrooge has the luxury of sitting there counting his money. Through the people around him, you get a sense of what it was like to earn your living in a city where men like him held so much power. I’ll admit I wasn’t familiar with Ti West. I’ve been out of touch with what’s happening in theater and film for quite a few years, and Ebenezer made me seek out his work. What he gave me here was literature on screen. He built a world, cast exceptional actors, and trusted them to do what they do best. He let them bring the characters to life. And then he turned the classic novel into a masterpiece of horror.

Johnny Depp is, once again, phenomenal. At first he’s almost an apparition. You look into his eyes and they seem empty. Then, little by little, you catch the bitterness and the pain, and you glimpse the man who once knew how to be happy. By the final scenes, when all that kindness comes to the surface, there’s a sense of humor to it that wins you over. And Ian McKellen. What can I say? At first I wondered if I’d heard right, if that really was him as Jacob Marley. He commands the screen the moment he appears. I also loved Tramell Tillman, whom I knew from Severance, as the Ghost of Christmas Present. He’s one of those actors I’m always glad to see doing amazing things, on the small screen or the big one. The film smells like a book. It smells like England, like literature, like good acting. It ran for nearly two hours and I could have sworn only one had gone by. A few scenes and exchanges might have flowed better. I’m thinking, for instance, of the scene around the table. Still, I felt what the film was trying to tell me. I walked out feeling good and still believing in humanity. Forgive me if a few of these sentences come out a little awkwardly. The last time I wrote was in 2019, before the pandemic. After seventeen years away from Greece, I’m officially bilingual. Some words come to me first in English, others in Greek. Thank you for bearing with me. I’ve missed writing. I’ve missed looking inward to see what moves me, and sharing with you my love of the arts. Film, theater, music, architecture, sculpture. All the beautiful things that can come from the human soul and mind. Come find me if you like, and let’s have those lovely conversations about art, about life, and about what it means to exist. Thank you, your little soul far from home