‘Ebenezer’ Reviews Roundup: Johnny Depp’s Comeback Gets a Chilly Reception

Nearly every critic reviewing Ebenezer seems to be finding their way around the same question: How do we feel, exactly, about Johnny Depp starring in a major studio film once again? Conveniently, Ti West‘s adaptation of A Christmas Carol provides plenty of metaphorical fodder given it’s a redemption tale, after all, with Depp’s Scrooge given lines like, “I am not the man I was!” and “I was once good, and I know I can be again!” Still, many critics aren’t sold on the film — or Depp, for that matter, with the actor once again buried in makeup and prosthetics. The film currently has a 51 percent positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, and even the positive reviews tend to be a bit tempered (it will be interesting to see if the audience score for Ebenezer is significantly higher, as critics assigned to cover the film might very well feel more negatively towards Depp than fans). The movie’s supporting cast — including Rupert Grint, Ian McKellen, Andrea Riseborough, Daisy Ridley and Tramell Tillman — are largely drawing praise. Here is a sampling of reviews from major publications. Ebenezer opens Friday (watch the final trailer below). The Hollywood Reporter: “Johnny Depp really needed a comeback vehicle, and he’s found an effective one in Ti West’s horror-tinged adaptation that allows the actor to deliver the sort of quirky theatrical performance for which he became famous. While Ebenezer doesn’t break any new ground, other than possibly being the first version of the story not really suitable for young children, it fulfills its ostensible goal of restoring the actor to A-list status … Depp … delivers a performance that no one would call subtle. In style, it most closely resembles a heavily made-up Albert Finney’s broad take on the character in the now largely forgotten 1970 musical Scrooge. But the actor’s charisma and star power eventually come through.” Vulture: “Johnny Depp is the worst part of Ebenezer, but he’s also the reason it exists, so it’s futile to try and separate his presence from the rest of the movie, which is, inconveniently, pretty good. Depp is also doing a tiresome variation on the mugging that’s become his primary approach to acting ever since the role of Captain Jack Sparrow vaulted him into Disney-franchise levels of fame — a vaguely comic, scenery-chewing mode that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the movie…West’s interpretations of the spirits who visit the miser over the small hours of the night are imaginatively spooky, especially the Ghost of Christmas Past, played by Andrea Riseborough as a kind of corpse bride clad all in white with rheumy eyes.” The New York Times: “It’s an attempt to, as much as one can in one role, play the hits. Whether consciously or simply out of a lack of creativity, the aging star is playing an agreeable version of himself, more than anything, aimed at providing a fond reminder of the Depp-in-drag iconography he crafted for himself over the last few decades … Ebenezer implicitly markets itself on the empirically shaky idea of a beloved Depp that was taken away. If you don’t squint too hard, his Scrooge might not only function as a return, but a memory wipe.” The Times UK: “It’s just a shame, then, that the film around him, directed by the horror film-maker Ti West (Pearl, X), is hugely uninspired and has little to offer the already swollen canon of Christmas Carol adaptations. The Alastair Sim version from 1951, the Bill Murray comedy from 1988 and the Muppet musical reboot from 1992 are all vastly superior to this surprisingly vanilla take. … But really this is just a chance for audiences to see that Depp, like the character he is playing, is eminently redeemable and ready again, in the strongest possible terms, for his close-up. Boston Globe: “Under all that makeup, Depp is easily the worst Scrooge I’ve ever seen. His performance is a soulless, hollow shell, never once convincing us of Scrooge’s miserly rage or his ultimate redemption. There isn’t an ounce of humanity in this performance; it may as well have been generated with AI.” The Guardian: “As Scrooge himself, Depp is in fact rather good; theatrically bad-tempered and petulant and, as with his Jack Sparrow, I suspect Depp’s comedy timing and sonorous British accent might have been learned from his old Fast Show comrade Paul Whitehouse. He is better at the unredeemed Scrooge than the saved version at the end, where some of the abject pathos is missing. This is a decent enough new version, avoiding any big new revisionist takes which might have clunked.” Slashfilm: “With the exception of a small moment here and there, Depp’s Scrooge is largely solid yet unremarkable. Which begs the question: why bother in the first place? It seems like the entirety of Ebenezer was arranged to allow Depp to chew scenery and showboat around, which the actor perversely refuses to do. It’s possible that Depp now considers such an approach something he’s no longer interested in, and it’s not like he hasn’t given grounded performances before, like his turn as John Dillinger in Public Enemies, for example. Depp’s performance as Scrooge simply doesn’t feel fully realized.” IndieWire: “While Depp has never been the subtlest of actors, his post-Sparrow pivot away from artistic curiosity has distended his talents into such a grotesque caricature of their former charm that Ebenezer left me feeling like I may never be able to empathize with his screen presence again … Given the emphasis the director puts on the film’s genre spin, it’s ironic and surprising that Ebenezer is at its best when it focuses on the most basic human elements of its story, if only because the supporting characters offer such a welcome contrast to whatever Depp is doing. The Daily Beast: “Ebenezer has enough commendable qualities to justify its existence, and Depp sturdily balances Scrooge’s nastiness, silliness, and, finally, kindness … Not fresh enough to become a classic, but with enough scariness to unnerve its younger viewers, West’s latest is a competent, accurate retelling fit for the Yuletide season—and, perhaps just as crucially, a Depp vehicle that suggests the beleaguered star isn’t ready to relinquish his A-list status just yet.”