MovieChat Forums > A Christmas Carol (1999) Discussion > I'm confused about the timeline

I'm confused about the timeline

posted 11 years ago by janetch
4 replies | jump to latest

When Marley's ghost visits Scrooge he says that each of the three ghosts of Christmas will visit at 1 am on three consecutive nights. But that would put the third ghost's visit 2 days AFTER Christmas. The movie itself proceeds to have the ghosts visit on the same night as is traditional for the story -- in fact literally one after the other. And, of course, at the end Scrooge says the usual, "The spirits did it all in one night."

Why the change at the beginning? Why the discrepancy?

[–] Not_just_another_Time_Lord 11 years ago

After Marley gives Scrooge the timeline, Scrooge asks "Couldn't I just have them all at once and get it over with?"

[–] boll-weavil 11 years ago

We are led to believe they will be on consecutive nights and that then surely sets up the finale when Scrooge wakes up to find he actually has Christmas Day still to do. It adds to the dramatic conclusion and re-emphasises the whole point of the story - that Scrooge can still change his future. Just imagine what would have happened if he had woken up to find he had missed the whole holiday - the ending might have fallen a little flat doncha think ?

[–] dmpyron 9 years ago

"They lied to me. Of course they would, they're ghosts"

[–] kf-in-georgia 9 years ago

This also is the way Dickens wrote it. It's why Scrooge can be so delighted and surprised that it's Christmas morning when he awakens.