Ray and I decided to watch a Christmas movie today. Ray chose the 2017 film, The Man Who Invented Christmas, which is the story of how Charles Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol. Before you shrug and say, “No, thank you,” stick with me for just a minute and let me explain why this movie is so good.

This film gives you a glimpse into Charles Dickens’s life after Oliver Twist was a hit followed by three books that were failures. You get real insight into the financial pressure Dickens was facing in order to support a wife, several kids, and another on the way. Also, there is a much larger subplot about Dickens’s relationship with his father, which deepens the whole movie and adds tension. Finally, the story includes Dickens’s creative process in conjuring up the characters and storyline of A Christmas Carol, which is delightful all on its own.

This movie will make you laugh, tear up, and also admire the method Charles Dickens used to imagine all the wonderful stories and characters that he wrote.

I would highly recommend this movie for anyone who wants a different type of holiday movie to watch. And if you want further validation of the movie’s merit, let me just say that we found this rather obscure gem because it was on several lists of the best Christmas movies ever made.