A Christmas Carol, 1999 By Lorianna on Nov 06, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

I was so looking forward to see this movie. "A Christmas Carol" is one of my favorite stories, I never get tired of it, and seeing a new version with Patrick Stewart sounded like a treat. I had also read that Patrick Steward did a one-man-show of this story, reading for all the characters; that had raised my expectations even more. I thought he had practiced the role to perfection, and I couldn't wait to see it.

Alas, I was very disappointed. First of all, Patrick Stewart did not look the part. I thought they would use some makeup, particularly a hairpiece; but, no, they'd settled for a bald Scrooge - something I wasn't prepared for. I'm sorry; I know that Patrick Stewart is bald, but Scrooge shouldn't be. Secondly, the heartfelt, practiced-to-precision performance I expected was not there. I don't know what happened to Stewart's talent, but he did not show much emotion and seemed restrained. Yes, Scrooge is supposed to be cold and hard in the beginning, but not that cold and hard, and not throughout the movie. The most powerful moments of the story had left me unmoved as I did not see the struggle, the painful, gradual change Scrooge undergoes (George C. Scott plays it powerfully in the 1984 version). Other characters were also uninteresting, including the ghosts.

You can't beat the George C. Scott version, this movie only proves it once more.