Noah - 2014 Movie Review

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Noah - Movie Review

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel
Stars: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins, and Douglas Booth
American Epic Biblical-inspired Fantasy Film

Darren Aronofsky has a history of making strange art films about men and women obsessed. His 1998 debut, PI, is a low budget techno-thriller involving a man obsessed with numbers. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM explores the horrors of obsession in the form of drug addiction. THE FOUNTAIN is about a man’s quest for eternal life. BLACK SWAN deals with a ballet dancer seeking perfection. Now, Aronofsky has created a biblical epic based on the story of the great flood and Noah’s mission to make sure God’s will is followed through without question.

Russell Crowe stars as Noah and delivers his best performance in years. After the fall of Adam and Eve and the murder of their son Abel at the hand of his brother Cain, humanity has managed to spread across the world. Cain’s descendants have multiplied and industrialized yet fallen into destruction and despair. Noah and his family, descendants of Cain’s other brother Seth, live in harmony with God’s creation yet also despair, for they know Cain’s wickedness. Noah is a righteous and hopeful man, but dreams of the world’s destruction and believes it is God’s message. He takes it upon himself to fulfill God’s will to save the innocent while the world is cleansed in a consuming flood. His wife Naameh, gracefully portrayed by Jennifer Connelly, and their sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth accompany him. Along the way they adopt Ila, played by Emma Watson, a girl left for dead after her family is massacred. If any film was going to be Watson’s professional step into adulthood, this is it. Aronofsky handles Ila’s growth from a wounded child into a strong woman with the utmost care and it shows in Watson’s impressive performance.

Ray Winstone is powerful as Tubal-Cain, the “king” of men. He’s the antagonist, but he’s also a conflicting and relatable character. He mirrors Noah because he also believes in his own righteousness. But he is desperate. He lives by the truest definition of free will and he serves as a representative of the wickedness that is within us all.

Let me be very clear: NOAH isn’t a summer blockbuster in the vein of Hollywood’s more recent trends. It’s a very risky movie. Sure, it has incredible visuals, a sweeping score, and exciting action scenes. But the grand flooding/battle sequence that would normally be a third act finale is halfway through the movie. The world’s animals gathering on the ark and the eventual flood are an integral part of the story, but they’re not the point. NOAH is an art film disguised as a blockbuster, and there’s much more going on between the lines.

NOAH is a difficult, but rewarding film. There hasn’t been a Bible movie made quite like it. It is a weird, thought-provoking fantasy with scenes that truly inspire awe. The creation sequence, for instance, is incredible. The fallen angel characters, The Watchers, are bizarre and intriguing. The film presents religious text in a modern, provocative frame of reference. It’s more than just a retelling of the flood story or an exploration of mankind’s relationship with God. It challenges the audience to consider the dualities of unquestionable faith and free will, community and isolation, immorality and just action, and punishment and grace.

There’s no wondering why NOAH is controversial. However, if you’re the kind of movie fan that enjoys being challenged while also being entertained, then you won’t regret taking the risk. If you’re religious, then rather than shrugging it off or pre-judging it, I encourage you to embrace the film with an open mind and really consider it as a faith exercise. Regardless of your views, I think everyone has something to gain from experiencing this strange, grand, and truly hopeful film. And with its gorgeous and huge cinematography, this telling of NOAH deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Written by Kelly White

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