The Virtues of Thisness Presentism ***
Produced and Directed by David Ingram
Reviewed by Moofe Lurver for The Gordian
In this modern take on Dickens’ A Christmas Carroll we find the protagonist haunted by ghosts of time past, (thisnesses, as they are known in the film) including ghosts of his earlier selves. Despite the strong direction by Ingram, it’s just not clear what this film wants to be: heartfelt morality tale, or ghost story. Sometimes we veer into the latter, such as when the main character finds himself surrounded by thisnesses. Unable to move, we see panic ensue. This is a truly frightening scene. At other times, though, the film seems more interested in pursuing a theme of redemption, as the character engages with various thisnesses and tries to work out how he, and the world around him, got to be the way it is. The idea that the ghosts of time past are all around us, that we live with what we have wrought, is poignant in the film. And there is much to like about it on those grounds. Still, there is an uneasy mix here between ghost fiction and something deeper and more interesting. Three Stars.
Comments