aka A Christmas Carol
Plot synopsis
On Christmas Eve, many ghosts covered with chains arrive to show Scrooge how he could end up. They disappear and when the clock strikes one, the ghost of Xmas past appears in the form of a beautiful blonde angel. She takes him back in time to review all of the key moments of his past that shaped his life. She tells him that to understand the present, he must learn from the past.
Scrooge falls back to sleep but is woken by the clock striking two and goes into the next room. He meets the ghost of Xmas present, who takes him a few hours into the future. They go on a tour of his neighbourhood on Xmas Day. He finds out what is really going on and sees things that he had never before chosen to see.
When the clock strikes three, a knocking on the front door wakes him. An old lady in black enters and transforms into the ghost of Xmas yet to be. She takes him forward in time to a graveyard. “Your future is here,” she says, “Listen to the footsteps of the people that will be dancing on your grave!” Scrooge is shocked when he reads the unpleasant epitaph on his gravestone. The ghost then throws a cloak over him.
When Scrooge removes the cloak, he is back in his house and the sun has risen on Xmas morning. All of the time travelling is done in that one evening. At the end, we see him as a changed man, happily celebrating Xmas with his friends and relatives.
My comments
This movie was based on an 1843 Charles Dickens novel of the same title. Many film versions have been made of this book and they all follow the story quite closely. As they use the same model of time, I’ve only reviewed this one.
Summary of time travel
Scrooge travelled to his past with the ghost and they stood in the room watching. Nobody could see them, nor could they change anything. So the past is closed and was not affected by his presence.
He also travelled to his probable future but just as an observer. On his return to his present, he begins to change his behaviour, which causes the timeline to diverge towards a new and different future.
Category of time travel
Science fiction: dreams.
Model of time
Closed past, open future with a diverging timeline.
