Noah

The nature of this post is some touchy material.

Noah is a "religious" film that has quite a few parties mad about what it depicts. After having seen the film I understand how it could be taken offensively but I also think that it's all a big overreaction.

I too am a Christian, keep in mind, but the "flood story" is not unique to Christians. We do not own it as it appears in several other religions' history and there is scientific evidence of a destructive flood far back in the annals of our earth's story. Noah is one of the more popular characters in the Bible and fills Sunday School talks around the nation with his tale of gathering all the animals, two-by-two, and building an ark that is roughly the size of a football field. Now...I won't tread any water on the credence of the Bible story itself. Personally I think, like much of the Old Testament, that it is to be taken as a parable. A lesson that explains and warns about the corruption of man and the mercy of God. Much like Jonah and the Whale and a select few other Bible stories, Noah is one of the more fantastical ones. I'm sure there was a man named Noah and I'm sure he built one hell of an ark. Some of the other elements I am a little more curious about but that was never the purpose of those stories. The purpose of many Bible stories is to teach those reading it a lesson about themselves, their faith, their attitudes, etc. And in that regard, Noah is one of the very best, and certainly unique, Bible stories there is.

The ark is awkwardly rectangular, but
still impressive. Sorry. That was the
engineer in me...

My point with all of this is that translating Noah to the big screen was never going to be an easy task. For those crying for a more faithful adaptation, may I remind you that Noah practically never speaks. There are almost no other characters in the story and if you wanted to you could summarize it accurately in less than three paragraphs. In no way, shape, or form is that going to be an enjoyable movie. Then you factor in the whole aspect of God and Hollywood. No one really cares for a preachy film unless its about their own religion so director Darren Aronofsky had a gargantuan task of relating it to ALL religions and creation stories. That's probably the main reason that God is never mentioned once in the film but instead referred to as "The Creator" or "He". So no, it's not a faithful adaptation other than some of the larger bullet points. And I think that if you walk away offended by it you may not have grasped the bigger purpose of the film in which it DOES share with the Bible: that man can be good and God can be merciful.

So there's my little disclaimer for this "controversial" film. Some of you may agree with it, some of you may not. But I'm not here to review your religious beliefs, I'm here to review movies. I just think that people who are on the fence about this film should know going in that its not accurate to the Bible for several good reasons, mainly being that it would have been a fairly dull movie in that case. If you go into Noah with an open mind you are likely to grasp the same lessons that the Bible story has been teaching for thousands of years.

Time travelling with Hermione!

"Moisture is the essence of wetness
and wetness is the essence of beauty"
Noah replacing Derek Zoolander
as a shampoo spokesperson

As a film Aronofsky's scale and ambition are impressive. I was quite surprised by how well he wove every element together and was able to tell a complete story based off such a quick Bible story. His vision is one of the stronger aspects of the film and while it may not be entirely "religious", it is definitely spiritual. The film asks deep questions and Noah's realization at the end, aided by Ila (Watson) is precisely why I find the movie not controversial. It was a profound journey of getting to that point and really struck a chord with me. Noah also boasts some gorgeous shots of wherever they filmed (anyone know? Because it's gorgeous) as well as some silent-but-thought-provoking day-night nature cycles that were borderline hypnotic. There are many fantastic performances with Russell Crowe's best in years as well as Emma Watson's strongest role yet. Crowe is stoic as the titular character and we can see the pain, anguish, and confusion that he goes through on his task to complete the Creator's task. Watson plays their adopted daughter, Ila, who is barren from injury and struggles with finding where she will fit in this new world with not being able to produce offspring. In the commercials it seemed like Watson was just some additional star power for the film but I was pleasantly surprised to see that her role is nearly as big as Crowe's. Jennifer Connelly is Noah's wife and isn't given too much to do until the end where she has a few fantastic scenes. Everyone else is strong and I couldn't give you a weak link if you asked for one.

"High knees! High knees! Come on sissies!
Get through that mud!"

Make no mistake about it, Noah is a well made film. Far better than I thought it would be. But it is not perfect. I found the beginning to be a bit clunky and I think there was a tad too much time spent on the ark with some unnecessary drama from a stowaway detracting from the other, more poignant drama, within Noah's family. The Watchers, giant stone creatures that move awkwardly and look bad too, are the film's biggest blemish. I eventually came to understand their purpose (helping to build the ark and protect it), but their design was atrocious and pulled off even worse, looking like old-school Claymation at times. Given that they were fallen angels, I'm not sure why the stone design was chosen but it was a misstep. And overall, I just wasn't really that enthralled with the journey I was on. Perhaps it was because I was tired on a Sunday afternoon but I think its largely due to the fact that I, nor many other people, really asked for a retelling of Noah on the big screen. What Aronofsky has done with the film is very impressive but I found it difficult to get really into it despite the film trying its hardest.

Noah is sure making waves in theaters and churches across the nation now, but I'm not sure anyone will remember all the hub-bub several months down the road. And the same can be said for the film. It's an impressive retelling of one of the world's oldest stories and it pulls it off without being either preachy or outright offensive. I'm just not sure I would want or need to watch it again and come time at the end of the year to think about awards I'm not sure I will remember too many aspects of the film despite its quality.

For those curious as to whether Noah sinks or floats, it most certainly floats. Just don't expect to see a word for word recreation of the story.

CONS:

• A tad overlong. The beginning scenes could have been edited together better and I really don't think that the stowaway ark drama was necessary at all
• Those Watchers are stupid. Poorly conceived and poorly executed. How on earth are those supposed to be fallen angels?
• As a fair minded reviewer, I can't deduct as many points as I would like to this fact, but there is really no need for this film. Harsh maybe, but it made it really hard for me personally to transport myself like I can with so many other films. Several of the scenes intended to be epic came across as "meh" to me
• Many of the mythic things we see throughout the film are never explained and it got really annoying (i.e. snake skin arm band, golden rocks, etc.)

PROS:

• A strong vision from Aronofsky that tells a complex tale that still shares all of the main points with the simplistic Bible story. I can see how people might be offended, but again, I would argue that they really let their frustrations get in the way and missed out on the main lesson.
• Given that the flood story is not unique, Aronofsky made the good decision to refer to God as the Creator, thus widening the nets for those who may not necessarily be Christian to enjoy the film and relate to it as well
• An impressive original score
• Some awesome set pieces and styling. The nature shots were gorgeous and I found the time-lapse nature shots to be nothing shy of perfect
• Stellar performances from all involved but particular credit has to go to Crowe and Watson
• Better than expected, which is always a fun treat at the theater. I may not have been as captivated as I would have liked to been but I was expecting something closer to a train wreck and walked away with a very well made movie instead

Rath's Review Score: 8/10