Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)

Film and Plot Synopsis

Produced by Timeless Films and directed by Stephen Donnelly, Charles Dickens’ ageless legend is reborn in this supernatural, time-travelling, musical adaptation of the definitive Christmas story. With his very soul on the line, Scrooge has but one Christmas Eve left to face his past and build a better future. Featuring re-imagined songs from the legendary and two-time Academy Award® winner Leslie Bricusse OBE, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is one for a new generation to sing. (Courtesy of Timeless Films UK)

‘Scrooge: A Christmas Carol’ Movie Summary

In 1843 London on Christmas Eve, a jolly man Harry Huffman (Fre Fee) encounters his uncle Ebenezer Scrooge (Luke Evans), a cold-hearted businessman with an incredibly bad temper and tendency to be a skinflint. Scrooge hates Christmas and everything that it stands for and looks down on anyone who celebrates the holiday, including his own nephew. Scrooge manages to avoid Harry long enough to decline giving any money to charity and add in a debt owed to him by the local toy shop owner Tom Jenkins (Giles Terera), a man who can barely afford medical treatment for his frail mother.

After returning to his counting house, Scrooge rejects his nephew’s invitation to Christmas dinner. Scrooge has one loyal employee by the name of Bob Cratchit (Johnny Flynn) who works alongside Scrooge in the freezing counting house. Scrooge reluctantly relents to Cratchit’s request to have the next day, Christmas Day, off from work. Scrooge closes up for the night, and he and his dog Prudence go home as Scrooge sings about his exasperation with Christmas.

Scrooge lives alone with minimal amenities. That night, Scrooge encounters the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley (Jonathan Pryce). Marley warns Scrooge that he needs to repent and except Christmas into his heart or he will be doomed to share his miserable fate in the afterlife. The deceased businessman informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts during the night. However, once Marley leaves, Scrooge convinces himself that he imagined the ghost.

Shortly after midnight, Scrooge is visited by a wax-like shape-shifting ghost called Past (Olivia Colman). The ghost whisks Scrooge to his past and shows the miser a younger version of himself that was forced to work in a factory on Christmas Day as a child due to his father being in a debtors’ prison. A visit from Scrooge’s sister Jen (Jemima Lucy Newman) brings a sliver of light into Scrooge’s otherwise dreary existence as she brings him home for a holiday. Jen, the mother of Harry, would eventually die in childbirth. Past also shows how Scrooge’s unbreakable focus on accumulating wealth as an adult drove a wedge between him and the woman he loved, Isabel Fezziwig (Jessie Buckley), the daughter of Scrooge’s employer Mr. Fezziwig (James Cosmo). Before leaving, Past tells Scrooge to remember his past and learn from it. Scrooge is angered by the visions and dismisses Past as he finds himself back in his empty bed chamber.

Soon after, Scrooge is visited by a giant ghost named Present (Trevor Dion Nicholas). The ghost shows Scrooge how others keep Christmas. Present then takes Scrooge to Harry’s house for the Christmas party that Scrooge declined to attend. Harry defends his uncle from snide remarks made by his guests and expresses his love for his uncle. Present then takes Scrooge to Bob Cratchit’s house, where Scrooge is surprised to find that his clerk has such a large family. Scrooge watches as the Cratchit family celebrates Christmas with a meager meal made up of goose and pudding. Scrooge takes pity on Bob’s ill son Tiny Tim (Rupert Turnbull). Scrooge asks about Tim’s future to which Present replies that Scrooge will need to ask his next visitor.

Present’s body then turns into the ghost of Yet To Come. This Ghost shows Scrooge what lies in store the following year. Yet To Come shows that Scrooge’s own death will not be mourned by anyone, other than his dog Prudence, and is actually celebrated by some, including Tom Jenkins. Additionally, Yet To Come also shows him a devastated Cratchit family who are mourning the passing of Tiny Tim. Scrooge is also given an example of what Hell is like, and that is where he will go after death for eternity with heavy chains if he does not change his ways. Overcome with guilt and emotion, Scrooge vows to change and embrace every day as if it was Christmas. He vows that he will change for the better if it means that Tiny Tim will live on.

Suddenly, Scrooge awakens in his own bedroom on Christmas Day. Thrilled to be alive and having a chance to repent, Scrooge begins to make up for the years of being miserly. He ventures out onto the streets of London and begins to spread happiness and joy to its citizens. He goes on a shopping spree, buying food and presents. He invites several people to his soon to be decorated home for a Christmas party. At the party, he gives Harry a doll that Jen once made him, makes Cratchit his business partner, gives a donation to the charity workers, and erases Tom’s debt. He also promises Tiny Tim that he will be able to seek medical help with his father’s pay rise. Scrooge then celebrates Christmas with his new assortment of companions.