MUBI

I was unexpectedly entertained by this film in more ways than one. The film was comedic, had elements of action, affective use of suspense, believable voice acting and animation ,and most importantly is the unexpected uses of 3 dimensional technologies. This is my first experience with the new 3-d technology and going into it I was already predisposed to find it gimmicky and there for the film would not really stand on its own. Many would argue that there are several scenes where the imagery depicted is for the sole purpose of exploiting the 3-d experience. I would agree with this but would like to add that the film tries very hard to push the boundaries of visual story telling in scenes where the 3-d experience is less apparent.
First I would like to bring to light the experience of snow fall as a 3-d effect. In the past and the present with films like Journey to the Center of the Earth, 3-d experiences were almost always designed to have visual imagery come out of the screen at the audience members to make them lurch back in their seat in expectation of the depicted object hitting them. In this film snow fall is depicted in 3 dimensions so that instead of coming towards the audience it is falling directly in front of the audiences face while characters interact behind it on the screen. This simple decision by the film changes the emotional connection the audience has with the characters in that scene by putting you directly in the cold yet fluffy fall of snow. Similar effects are used for walking down an alley close to a wall that appears inches from your face and when you reach the edge of a building scene unfolds in the background that recedes into the screen. The abrupt change in depth when you reach the corner of the building creates a shock affect that defies what has been seen in both 2-d and 3-d films to date.
One other scene that exploits the 3-d technology to change the way visual story telling occurs in this film happens while Scrooge is waiting for the “spirit of things yet to come” to appear in the clock tower. The shot creates a an extreme depth of focus by placing a bell and knocker in the upper right hand corner protruding from the screen, the clock tower’s mechanical workings in the left hand side near the physical existence of the screen and lastly places Scrooge in the middle of this massive towers floor only a few inches tall and appears to be an extreme distance away from the where the bell and knocker exist. The miraculous part of this shot is that all the objects are in complete focus. A handful of times in the film including this one we see the use of 3-d to create this bird’s eye view with the depth of focus so precise that we can still see the details of scrooge nervously panicking even though he is only a few inches tall on the screen. This affect also puts the viewer in a position that creates a point of view from someone near the bell and knocker that is about to strike and dictate the coming of the next spirit.
So, to bring this commentary to a close I will say that I am very excited about the use of this new technology to redefine the 2 dimensional screen that has dominated cinema for over 100 years. I am sure as more films are released using this technology more people will see how the techniques used are not just gimmicks but are attempting to expand the visual language that can be used to create experiences in a cinematic universe.

What to say about a film based on a novel of great importance that doesn’t quite live up? You can’t go wrong with Charles Dickens’ essential A Christmas Carol, especially when it is done accurately. One thing that director Robert Zemeckis cannot be faulted for is his staying faithful to the tale and bringing it to a new generation of the masses. The Alastair Sim version from 1951 will always be, to me, the best adaptation, but the entries that spring boarded in their own directions from the source, like Scrooged, will remain the most memorable. So where does this new 3D version fall? Unfortunately, it’s in the realm of mediocrity. I think Zemeckis plays it too safe and too literal, but maybe that is what his goal was. If so, he accomplished it. To me, though, the umpteenth rendition of this classic holiday tale needed something to set it apart and make it relevant. The 3D gimmick had potential, but was under-utilized and Jim Carrey’s manic elasticity showed through at times, but his grouchiness overshadowed it all. Even at the end, when Scrooge awakens to the joy of yuletide, his antics are over-the-top and out of place.

It all started pretty impressively with the gorgeous rendering of an old, canvas-bound copy of the novel, a lit candle by its side. The cover opens to reveal an etched drawing of Marley, dead in his coffin, that soon morphs into the quasi-realistic animation that makes up the rest of the film. With a subtle, crisp three-dimensionality, I really found myself buying into it all, even with Scrooge pushing himself to the edge in order to tip the caretaker. His miser persona takes over before the young apprentice can put the coffin lid on, and in come the credits. The swooping camera takes us on a journey through the sleepy Victorian town as we travel around, floating between people, through wreaths, and around corners as the voice talent and crew’s names flash across the screen. It all makes the chore of wearing those god-awful glasses, (Can’t all 3D movies use that Disney mechanism so we can get comfy glasses with folding arms instead of these cheap, static yellow ones? This is even a Disney film!), acceptable, fully immersing us in this world. And then the wheels fall off as the plot takes over, slowing down the tempo and pushing the technology’s capabilities out of its wheelhouse.

My biggest knock on Zemeckis’s love for motion-capture animation is in the human forms. They should be perfect as they look the part, move like real actors, and have a decent texture too. Maybe it is that whole theory about the eyes having no life behind them that ruins the illusion, or maybe not. I will say that compared to The Polar Express and Beowulf, the characters work best here, so at least the technology is getting more advanced. The big question then is whether A Christmas Carol needed to be done in this medium. I guess it had been done with live actors so many times before that it was worth a try. Heck, if you can get Carrey to play three ghosts and Scrooge at every age, looking different each role, and even playing against himself, for the price of one actor, you’d be stupid not to. However, the result is like those Charles Schwab commercials that have been rotoscoped for no reason whatsoever. There is no fantastical imagery that needs animation, the ads just show a person talking, using the technique for flair alone, and hoping to grab the viewer’s attention while not using any of the medium’s true potential. Whereas Beowulf had mythological creatures to inhabit its world and Polar Express had elves and roller coaster-like sequences, this one rarely does anything to make the extra five-dollar ticket price worth it.

That’s not all though, the 3D still isn’t quite up to snuff either. I’m hoping that Avatar changes all that like it promises to, but I won’t hold my breath. The effect is pretty amazing, at least in the small quadrant your eyes can focus on at a time. I found that when I moved my head slightly, what was crisp and clean soon became doubled, while what was doubled became focused because my eyes now had it in their sights. Motion still blurs at too fast a speed for a brain to assimilate and, unfortunately, these problems do take you out of the story and acting. You find yourself adjusting to get as much of the screen in focus at one time, losing the nuances of the performances and the fantastic attention to detail. Truly, the snowflakes and the sparks or whatever small particles find their way between you and the characters are superb, bringing you into the film and the action. I loved the translucency of Marley’s ghost and the wrinkles of Scrooge along with the aging of the Ghost of Christmas Present. And the dark undertones were a welcome delight too, making the film a hard-PG that could scare the youngins’ just a bit.

As for the acting, one can’t complain too much. Gary Oldman is great as Bob Cratchit and Marley, visible ever so slightly, bringing a sense of reality to the otherwise plastic faces. Speaking of rubbery and fake, Bob Hoskins’ Mr. Fezziwig was the worst culprit of looking as far from human as possible, but luckily he is only onscreen for a brief time. Colin Firth may be the best in terms of the illusory effects of the animation, but the likeness is just too close and yet far off, making the face a tad strange. As for Carrey, well, this film is his vehicle for sure. The technique looks as though it was made especially for him and his chameleon-like mannerisms—always him but yet always a different body. He may over-play his hand at times, but when reined in, he also shines with enough nuance to carry the story and make his a worthy Scrooge in the lexicon of the role. It’s just a shame I can’t say the same about the film as a whole.

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