![]() Simon Callow plays John Leech, the famed illustrator of the finished novella, and Miles Jupp adds a bit of twisted fun as Dickens' rival William Makepeace Thackery. The best parts are also the easiest with which to relate – those involving the characters and the story slowly coming together. We often get the feeling that perhaps too much was crammed into the run time, what with the conflicts over money, renovations, family matters, and publishing. Having the characters of the story appear on screen and interact with the writer is a terrific way to explain how the creative mind works, although at times, the sources of ideas, characters and key lines seem a bit too convenient. Screen veteran Miriam Margolyes plays the housekeeper, and Anna Murphy is Tara, the Irish nanny who serves as a muse for Dickens. Dickens is in the midst of severe writer's block, and only the quiet strength of his wife and never-wavering loyalty of friend/agent John Forster (Justin Edwards) are able to keep in from sinking to even lower emotional depths. ![]() In 1843 London, the renowned Dickens is coming off three straight flops and experiencing financial woes that are exacerbated by his insistence on the finest materials for the large home he and wife Kate (Morfydd Clark, LOVE & FRIENDSHIP) are renovating. Even as an adult, Charles had recurring nightmares of his time in child labor, and fortunately he was able to use those memories to create many long-lasting stories, each oblivious to generational change. Jonathan Pryce also excels as Charles' father John, a charming man who has never quite figured out the economics of life and whose long ago debt sent young Charles to a work house mixing shoe black. What a delight to behold the talented octogenarian as he leaves us wishing for even more of the grumpy and miserly old former partner of Jacob Marley. It should surprise no one that Christopher Plummer steals each of his scenes as Ebenezer Scrooge. Stevens easily fits into the latter, but as a testament to the strength of the story and supporting cast, we viewers are nonetheless quite entertained. Attempts to capture the process behind creative writing usually falls into one of two buckets: dry and boring, or outlandish and over-the-top. Dan Stevens (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 2017) stars as the esteemed writer Charles Dickens, and he bounds from scene to scene like a moody and spoiled Energizer Bunny. Rather than offer up yet another film version of the Dickens novella, director Bharat Nalluri (MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, 2008) instead uses the Susan Coyne screenplay adapted from the non-fiction work of Les Standiford to present the lively and entertaining tale of HOW Dickens wrote his iconic book. Most would agree there is only one Christmas story that surpasses the popularity and familiarity of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", and both have had numerous film and screen adaptations. The quick change in ambience and the French musician’s ability to entrance his audience with any genre of music he commits to, is indicative of his astonishing artistry, both recorded and live.Greetings again from the darkness. People began linking arms, running around in circles, and jumping up and down, as though they were in a barn in the middle of Mississippi. ![]() At the end, he improvised some “American folk dance” music that sent the chilled-out audience into a hoedown throw down of some sort. The one-man band alternates between the piano, the saxophone, the guitar, a soundboard, and his voice, looping the eclectic instruments together during his entire set and captivating his audience with his quick dexterity and fluid sounds.įrench Kiwi Juice certainly left a lasting impression on everyone when he brought out Masego, for their famous duet “ Tadow,” and not only came back after everyone yelled “encore,” but also stayed for an additional 15 minutes, playing music that deviated away from his album. Overlaying jazzy low-fi undertones with EDM and stoner tunes, French Kiwi Juice easily worms his way into everyone’s inner desire to sway with our eyes closed, head tilted upwards. FKJ is the all-encompassing personification of our current generations’ music renaissance.
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