DIRECTOR:
Darren Aronofsky LEAD CAST: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Wi nstone,
Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins, Douglas Booth, Leo McHugh Carroll SCREENWRITER: Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel PRODUCER: Scott Franlin,
Darren Aronosky, Mary Parent, Arnon Milchan EDITOR: Andrew Weisblum
MUSICAL
DIRECTOR: Clint Mansell
GENRE: Drama, Classics, Biblical Epic
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew
Libatique DISTRIBUTOR:
Paramount Pictures
LOCATION: United
States, Iceland, Mexico RUNNING
TIME: 138
minutes
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT: 4
MORAL ASSESSMENT: 3
MTRCB RATING: R-13
CINEMA RATING: A
14
“He speaks to you. You have to trust
that he speaks in a way that you can understand.”
If you are expecting a peaceful, colourful, biblical story of your
childhood, do not go see Noah, the 2014
movie. Noah (Russell Crowe)
is a good family man who is disturbed by dreams about the destruction of the
world. He seeks his grandfather Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins) who tells him that
the Creator has chosen him for a special task. “He
speaks to you. You have to trust that he speaks in a way that you can
understand.” What he understood was man has become so wicked that the Creator wants
to annihilate humanity and he has to save the innocent. He builds an ark, with
his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly), his three sons Ham (Logan Lerman), Shem (Douglas
Booth), Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll), and adopted daughter Ila (Emma Watson). As
the ark they are building nears its completion, with the help of the Watchers,
heavenly beings doomed to the earth because of their disobedience, various
animal species enter the ark. Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone) arrives with his
followers demanding they be allowed on board. The rains come in torrents, and
the flood waters rise with the animals and Noah’s family safe in the ark, but
the drama does not end.
Noah is a biblical
epic, but it is a dark, brooding opus typical of Darren Aronofsky (see Black Swan, etc.). Aronofsky combines
good biblical research, masterful storytelling and effective CGIs: the
miraculous forest, the animals coming in droves to the ark, the terrifying but
majestic waters of the Flood! Cinematography is at times visually stunning. The
actors do not disappoint either. Russell Crowe inhabits Noah’s skin and
exhibits his versatility as a tender father, a driven hero, a villain fighting
his own demons, and trying to fulfil his mission as he understood it. Jennifer
Connelly complements Crowe with her presence and heart. Anthony Hopkins still
manages to deliver a believable Methuselah. Emma Watson and the young actors
adequately portray their roles. Aronofsky takes a story we all know and
presents it in a language 21st century men and women can grasp. He
has been accused of taking so much liberty with the Bible account. His critics
forget that the story of the flood was passed on from one generation to another
orally before it was ever written with all the embellishments at each
retelling.
Aronofsky’s latest work is a Noah
story for adults because it challenges you to think. The recurring flashback montage
of creation confronts the viewer with the wickedness of humans. And this
wickedness, this sin, is shown as the cause of all the sufferings in the world,
personified by Tubal-cain and his army. Noah comes face to face with this evil reflected
in his own heart. And yet he has been given the sacred trust to care for the
earth and to serve the justice of the Creator. So focused was he on obeying this
mission that he is willing to sacrifice not only himself but everything,
including the love and lives of his family. Although God is never mentioned in
the film (he is called Creator), he is present and involved in the lives of his
people: he guides, provides for and saves them. Despairing of what he thought
was a failed mission, Noah discovers the Creator as a God not only of justice
but of mercy and second chances, of forgiveness and new beginnings.
The overtly environmentalist message
is another criticism. But what is wrong about the reminder to “take only what
we need”? Can we not see the rape of nature currently happening in this day and
age? Are the extreme violence in the
fight scenes and intense emotional confrontations in the movie alien to our
reality? Or is it because we do not want to listen? We so bombard our ears, our
eyes, our minds, our hearts with what we want that we cannot perceive the new
life offered to us: peace, freedom, joy? Maybe, this is the flood story that we
need to hear.
Would that Ila’s words to Noah resonate
in the hearts of all: “He chose you for a reason. The choice was put in your
hands for a reason.”
