Johnny Depp returns as Scrooge in Ti West's horror take on Dickens' Ebenezer

A horror take on Dickens

Paramount's Ebenezer, directed by horror filmmaker Ti West, retells Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with Johnny Depp, 63, in the title role of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve to show him his past, his present and a frightening future. Ian McKellen plays the chain-rattling ghost of Scrooge's late business partner Marley, while Andrea Riseborough appears as the pale, gaunt Ghost of Christmas Past. Rupert Grint plays the overworked clerk and the father of Tiny Tim, according to Volkskrant. West leans into the horror in Dickens' moral tale, placing it in a Victorian London of fog, shadows and widespread poverty.

Critics divided on the result

NDR calls the production opulent and dark, partly grotesque and above all unsettling, with little of the Christmas mood the story is known for. The same review praises the atmosphere and the visuals but says the story offers little that is new, and that the film unsettles more than it warms. Volkskrant is harsher, calling the direction lukewarm and the scenes perfunctory, and arguing that two visiting spirits would have been enough. 20minutes reaches a gentler verdict: the film does its job, particularly for viewers who have not seen earlier adaptations, although West seems uneasy about making a family-friendly film. Several reviewers single out Depp's performance. NDR describes restrained acting that lets a vulnerable man emerge behind Scrooge's cruelty, while Volkskrant says he adds a dash of pirate swagger once Scrooge has changed.

Depp's road back to studios

Depp lost a 2020 defamation trial in London against The Sun, which had called him a 'wife beater'. Warner Bros then pushed him to step aside from Fantastic Beasts, and Mads Mikkelsen took over the role of Grindelwald, while Disney dropped talks about a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film at the same time. A second defamation trial in Virginia, concluded in 2022, closed the legal fight between Depp and his former wife, Amber Heard. Ebenezer is Depp's first American production since the flop Minamata (2020) and his first major studio film since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). He appeared in costume at San Diego Comic-Con in July, where he received a standing ovation, and the trailer has been viewed 23 million times on Paramount's YouTube channel.

Questions over the comeback

A column in The New Statesman called the wave of admiration for Depp deeply depressing, citing remarks he once made about his ex-wife. La Libre asks whether the comeback reflects a double standard in how male stars are treated compared with women involved in cases of sexual and gender-based violence. In 2023 around a hundred people from the French film sector signed an open letter in Libération protesting Cannes' decision to open the festival with Jeanne du Barry, in which Depp played King Louis XV. Those objections were aimed at the festival's choice, not at Ebenezer itself, which has yet to reach cinemas.

Pirates and what comes next

The Pirates of the Caribbean series has taken in more than $4.5 billion worldwide, according to La Libre. Volkskrant suggests Depp's Jack Sparrow flourish in the final act could help his pitch for a sixth Pirates film, which it describes as in development. Paramount is counting on the film's timing, with the studio betting on audiences for a Thanksgiving release, according to La Libre. The film's reception will show whether the trailer's 23 million views translate into box-office interest.