Film reviews: Johnny Depp shines in Ebenezer, plus Prima Facie and Fjord

Ebenezer (12A, 116 mins) ****

Even though Charles Dickens gave the first public reading of his own A Christmas Carol at Birmingham Town Hall on December 27, 1853, the idea of yet another worthy cinematic interpretation seemed rather fanciful after last year’s shockingly bad Christmas Karma.

But that’s not the only surprising thing about Ebenezer. Johnny Depp’s first titular performance since the Amber Heard trial four years ago proves that he’s still got the chops for the silver screen.

Horror director Ti West (Pearl / MaXXXine) adds supernatural gothic energy to a spirited past, present and future ghost story, tagged: ‘Before he was Scrooge he was Ebenezer’.

Rock composer Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy 2 / John Wick 4) certainly adds gravity to the darkness.

The Hunger Games star Sam Claflin plays Fred, while Harry Potter regular Rupert Grint (remember him, now 38!) is on career-best form as Bob Cratchit.

The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future are played by Andrea Riseborough (look out, kids!), Tramell Tillman and Robert Strange respectively.

But the added value of Ebenezer comes courtesy of Sir Ian McKellen, who plays Jacob Marley like a pensioner Noddy Holder. It's Christmaaaas!

His performance echoes how Hammer regular Christopher Lee anchored Depp in several Tim Burton movies, including Sleepy Hollow (2000), the first cinema release of this century.

In 2005, Lee hailed Depp as ‘the greatest actor of his generation’. Eight years later, Depp surprised the tearful veteran star by presenting him with a British Film Institute Fellowship Award.

Depp's Ebenezer might be indebted to Alastair Sim’s performance in Scrooge (1951), but the actor's clear revival here also suggests that Lee wasn't too far wrong. Scarcely recognisable yet always Depp, the great British comedy student seems to be channelling both Steptoe and Son and the spirit of the late Robin Williams.

A thoroughly dark 12A to introduce younger viewers to horror in the right way, Ebenezer is destined to become a family favourite and an essential part of Christmas future. No mean feat when so many others have tried.

Prima Facie (15, 109 mins)

Rarely can any film have been better timed for release in relation to contemporary events.

Following this week's Russell Brand and David Walliams revelations and allegations, Cynthia Erivo plays leading defence barrister Tessa Ensler, who certainly isn't expecting to find herself in court on the other side of the law following a rape. The attack is depicted in brief flashback scenes after its disturbing origins are established.

As well as a police investigation and courtroom trial, Suzie Miller's adaptation of her own one-woman play explores the impact of violence on the victim and her working-class family.

Now best known for playing Elphaba in Wicked (2024/2025), British actress Erivo has won every major music and theatre award going, as well as being nominated for an Oscar.

Directed by Susanna White (Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang), Prima Facie is not just a tense, heartfelt and moving must-see for women everywhere, but will cement Erivo's reputation as an actress who can carry an entire movie on her shoulders. Well done her.

Fjord (15, 146 mins) ****

There ought to be a law saying that every multiplex with at least eight screens should dedicate at least one of them to a roster of independent and/or world cinema films – because you never know how many gems you might find next door to the latest recycled, safety-first franchise offering.

This gripping story of a Romanian husband moving his Norwegian wife and their children to a coastal outpost in the scenic north of her country is a case in point.

The allegations of child abuse in Fjord are deeply relevant to how both indigenous and multicultural communities in modern Britain will view the smacking of children, or worse.

The scenery is fabulous and the use of light, indoors and out, is very clever. A cohesive score would have been useful given the film's length, but it's very well acted by two previous Oscar nominees – Romania-born Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice, 2024) and Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value, 2025), both of whom also starred in A Different Man (2024).

Despite a rather needless subplot which could have been cut, you're never quite sure just how much of a thriller Fjord is going to be, and you'll spend a fair amount of time on the edge of your seat regardless.

The story has a fair amount in common with Sandra Hüller's superior French film Anatomy of a Fall (2023).

Likewise, its courtroom scenes are particularly good – especially the unusual use of scenery, which is likely to offer law students a fascinating backdrop to their thirst for intelligent legal arguments, where questions are often challenged and have to be rephrased.

For director Cristian Mungiu, Fjord represents a second Palme d'Or winner after 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. (Nuneaton-born Ken Loach has also won the prize twice, a joint record he shares with eight others.)

Fjord is showing at the two-screen Mockingbird Cinema in Digbeth, where there will be 12 screenings until November 19 (well done to owner Lee Nabbs, after almost a decade of leading the way!), before a short run of three screenings at MAC Birmingham on December 13, 14 and 17.

Reviewing films in Birmingham since 1989, Graham Young is a former UK Regional Film Journalist of the Year and three-time runner-up