The movie The Man Who Invented Christmas is a brand new Christmas classic that will be celebrated and remembered for years to come. It came out on November 22nd and it stars well-known actors such as Dan Stevens, who starred in “Beauty and the Beast” and “Downton Abbey.” It is about Charles Dickens’ experiences while writing A Christmas Carol. In the movie, you get to see his characters come to life while he’s trying to write the book. It’s interesting to see where A Christmas Carol started and what it became in the end.

Over the course of the movie, Charles Dickens brings his characters to life to tell the story of A Christmas Carol. Scrooge is the first character he created,and Marley came soon after. After Marley appeared and spoke of the significance of his chains, he pointed to Dickens and told him that there were chains of his own that he carried with him. Throughout the film, the viewers begin to learn exactly what Dickens’ chains are, leading to a better understanding of why he created the story the way he did.

I was able to get an interview with the talented director of this film, Bharat Nalluri. He became involved with this film when a producer friend of his recommended him for the project because he loved A Christmas Carol so much,  he was obviously perfect for this movie. “Everytime I read A Christmas Carol I get something more out of it. It’s such a wonderful book,” he says. “In my prep for the film I had to do a lot of in-depth research, and it emphasized just how brilliant Charles Dickens was, to give us a story full of wit, pathos, and wisdom.” Nalluri’s insight on this book is clear to anyone that he was the perfect director for this film.

Nalluri feels like he can relate to Dickens. In the movie, Dickens faces crushing deadlines and severe writer’s block (especially when coming up with Scrooge’s name). He says that pretty much every movie he deals with has crushing deadlines. It’s the “nature of the beast,” according to him. He also says that of course he deals with writer’s block; he would feel worried if it all came too easily. It’s all just “part of the process.”

Overall, the movie was very good; with themes of hope, hard work, and love, the movie is easily a family favorite. Nalluri says that the actual making of the film was a positive experience for him as well. The producers and he were on the same page, so he was able to have more creative freedom than with some other movies he’d  worked on before. He also loved working with the cast and crew; “it was a very creative and fun project to direct.”

Nalluri leaves us with inspiring advice for any aspiring filmmakers: “write. Writing is the key in our industry. Understanding the writing process is vital to being a good director, actor, producer, editor, etc. You have to keep at it. It’s not easy, but if it was easy, then everyone would do it.”