Noah

You know, Noah always gets a bad rap for being the reason unicorns don’t exist, but if Darren Aronofsky’s new film, Noah is accurate, there was a dude hiding out on the ark eating a bunch of the animals! So blame him for all the extinct animals that didn’t survive the flood. The film stars Russell Crowe as the ark builder attempting to interpret “the creator’s” message while saving his family from the coming floods. The imagery is unlike what one would expect from a biblical epic. I must admit I’ve never seen a biblical story where giant rock people bash enemies away, but I’d also never seen a Darren Aronofsky directed biblical film.

It’s important to specify that Noah isn’t a religious film. I considered it to be, but that comes from preconceived notions of who Noah was and where the story was written. The movie uses the term “creator” instead of “God” and takes place in a time so far gone that the way we see religion had not yet been developed. But with fallen angels (rock monsters) and sin and debauchery portrayed the way they are, associated religion with the film is not so far off.

Crowe gives a good performance, but it suffers in the final third of the film when the script turns all gloomy and homicidal. Emma Watson, who plays Noah’s adopted daughter/daughter-in-law is probably the other standout due to the complex situation her character must deal with. Others prove to be very middle of the road. Jennifer Connolly is just there, Logan Lerman is a whiny pouter and Anthony Hopkins plays a crazy wizard (?) like guy. Even with that list, Noah is an interesting film that moves along well even though it’s filled with dense material. Plus it definitely isn’t what you would expect from a movie with this title.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.