After seeing the dazzling trailer for The Man Who Invented Christmas, I believe this is an ideal pick for our December outing (even though I'm not a big fan of Christmas).
Starring Dan Stevens (Matthew in Downton Abbey) and Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge, it's a - possibly true, possibly not - tale of how Charles Dickens wrote his timeless holiday novel.
Here's how Stevens describes the film: "It is a magical realist story based on some truth about the period of time Charles Dickens spent in the run-up to publishing A Christmas Carol. I just thought it was a really fresh take on that whole world. Particularly in England, Dickens is placed on a pedestal. But the guy was, by turns, quite playful and childish and at times, a quite dark and not very pleasant man.”
The movie was directed by Bharat Nalluri (who also did the unforgettable Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) from a screenplay written by Susan Coyne, based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Les Standiford. Below is a terrific story about Coyne, a Torontonian who's racking up a track record that's beyond impressive.
TRAILER: http://ew.com/movies/2017/09/05/man-who-invented-christmas-trailer-dan-stevens-charles-dickens/
REVIEW: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/movies/review-in-the-man-who-invented-christmas-review-charles-dickens-dan-stevens.html
STORY ABOUT SCREENWRITER SUSAN COYNE:
WHERE & WHEN: We'll see The Man Who Invented Christmas on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Yonge/Dundas Cineplex for the 1:35 screening. As always, we'll try to gather near the box office about 20 minutes earlier. For the benefit of new members who don't know how to recognize me, I will stand near the up escalator with some kind of Movie Club I.D. - but only until 1:25. As always, if you don't see me or other club members, go in and see the film on your own.
Those who wish to nosh & natter afterwards will meet at the bottom of the escalators by the windows near the exit. Then we will walk to the nearby Spring Rolls restaurant (staying on the north side of Dundas, crossing Yonge, walking west on Dundas about half a block).
N.B. NOTIFY ME no later than noon on Monday, Dec. 4, if you plan to join us so I can make a reservation for the correct number of people. N.B. Please do NOT notify me unless you're sure you will come to the restaurant. I say this because it's very embarrassing for me when I turn up with a reservation for, say 10 people and only six show up - as happened last month and several months before that. Gotta tell you, it's making me grumpy - and we don't want that, now do we?
