Last night John put on The Man Who Invented Christmas which is a movie about Charles Dickens and how he came to write one of the most definitive Christmas story ever, A Christmas Carol.
At first I was a little put off in regards to Dickens being portrayed as a kind of goofball sort of fellow with issues, but I bit my tongue, stayed in my chair (always difficult for me since I'm not a TV watcher), and gave it the benefit of the doubt.
It got interesting when Dickens whipped out a pocket notebook and wrote down the name Marley. What writer doesn't have pockets or a purse full of things like interesting names, place names, ideas, brief bits of conversation overheard while waiting in line for one's coffee, or in the bathroom where you tend to hear the most interesting things?
And then the characters came to life and talked to him, spouting lines, and offering critique and their own opinions. What author doesn't have these mental and, sometimes, out loud discussions, debates, and arguments with their characters as they are developed? What author isn't accompanied everywhere he or she goes by his current cast of characters all offering their views and suggestions?
Yes! I was soon thoroughly drawn into this movie because it was no longer about Dickens, it was about the writing process every writer/author goes through, the struggle, the blockages, the misplaced anger at the very real people in one's life when things aren't going well, the regrets for one's actions when you're angry with your own thought processes for failing you and lash out at whoever is nearest at the moment. I've seen the baffled and bewildered looks on Kelly and John's faces, and my co-worker's faces when I've gone to work literally in tears because of a fictional character!
I kind of liked Scrooge in this movie and how he convinced Dickens that people can change.
In a way this movie reminded me of the recent P.T. Barnum movie (musical) where the character was kind of bizarre to me and not like Barnum much. I didn't feel this handsome dude playing the part was much like Dickens, but once the Christmas Carol characters sprang to life and began dogging him, I forgot about that. I successfully managed to suspend belief and fall into a movie, laughing and, yes, crying in multiple places. It was like seeing my life as an author brought to life by these actors with a different era, gender and story.
The movie made this author feel good...but I don't know how Charles Dickens would have felt about it!
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