David O'ConnellCreation
July 13th 2010 05:28
Elegantly produced but dramatically inert, Jon Amiel’s Creation (2009) is unlikely to satisfy either staunch Darwinians or those equally staunch Christian armies whose faith involves believing that the writer of The Origin of Species was not capable of “killing God”. In the able hands of Paul Bettany, Charles Darwin is portrayed sympathetically as a loving father and naturalist of great integrity who stumbled upon a theorem that would prove to be the most important in the history of human thought.
As sincere and polished as Amiel's film is, there's scant evidence here to persuade us of the depths of Darwin’s imposing mind. We first see him as a doddering, unwell man getting on in years. The burden of finishing his book is taking a great toll on him, both mentally and physically. But of more pressing concern is the fundamental conflict eating away inside: raised a Christian, he feels inflicted with a vexing guilt at defying the rationale of his religious upbringing. Similarly, with every new chapter of his book he’s effectively putting a nail into the coffin of the principles of faith in which his devoted wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly) and their children have clung to for comfort through troubled times.
Amiel’s film tends to deviate between strands of time with a frequency that never allows the narrative to settle into a harmonious rhythm. There are brief impressions of his working processes but illuminating insights fail to materialise with any conviction. Note-taking in a cage now and then whilst observing an orangutan for its range of movements and responses doesn’t really do his work justice. Instead we’re left to imagine the quantum leaps made in extracting his data for ourselves.
With wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly) by his side, Darwin (Paul Bettany) prays........... for the absence of God.
More than anything, this becomes a story of Darwin the family man, and it's here that the film finally bogs down in a tedious exploration of the unhealed wounds of grief from the loss of the couple's oldest, most precocious child Annie (Martha West). Her intelligence is a thing of great pride to Darwin who, through her formative years, glimpsed an heir capable of seeing the world through his eyes long after his own departure. Though he’s able to plough on and complete his book, setting it free to ruffle feathers the world over, he never recovers and spends his days a haunted figure in pursuit of the girl's fleeting ghost.
These sobering, at times disquieting scenes leave the strongest impression behind. Certainly John Collee’s screenplay is suitably eloquent and not without literary merit, but you have to question who the film’s intended audience is. For those devout atheists (and that includes the guy just outside the screening room who, judging by his t-shirt, was there for the purposes of a ‘recruitment’ drive) there is little hardcore evidence to exhort the virtues of Darwin’s feted intellect and the ramifications of his theories. They’ll be returning to their bookshelves for that.
In the other corner, the Christians, looking to see if the grass is greener of the other side of the fence, before scoffing in bemusement, only a lingering impression of sadness persists. After all, in the end, you can't help feeling little more than pity for the wearied Darwin, stumbling about and hunting down apparitions only he can see.
Bettany, it must be said, gives another convincing performance in the underwritten role of a man torn by duty to science and the last grasps of a vanquishing faith that still nurtures his family. In support, real-life wife Connelly does her dreary, mournful, doe-eyed, stand-by-your-man bit as profitably as usual.
The film’s technical credits are first class, especially the glorious cinematography of Jess Hall which echoes his work on Brideshead Revisited (2008). Then there’s Christopher Young’s poetic, magnificently understated score which through subtle melody allows an emotional undercurrent to elevate the film to a level the screenplay simply can’t match. Creation is earnest and pretty to look at, but dull and unfocused. Though still worth seeing for Bettany's performance and its aesthetic beauty, this is no history lesson.
Creation opens in Australia this Thursday, July 15.
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Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
I am soooooo happy you reviewed this movie. Now I know what to expect. This is a topic that interests me greatly. I have studied scholarly materials from both sides of the coin and wondered how the movie approaches such a controversial topic.
Kudos,
Deni
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
It's not terrible by any stretch but it just never ignites even though it looks great and I always enjoy Bettany. Can't go past his performance in Master and Commander!
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Fashion Peach
I heard a rumour somewhere that this film was unable to get a distributor in the US, is that true?
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
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Comment by Journeywoman
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Fashion Peach
As for Connelly, perhaps winning the Oscar for her "quietly concerned" performance in A Beautiful Mind was enough to convince her that that's where her only good expression lies! I do like Paul Bettany though. He's one of those great actors that somehow manages to fly under the fame radar.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
I really like Bettany too. Even in something as bad as Legion he gives the whole film a bit of class that it doesn't otherwise have.
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
Was she dour in "Blood Diamond"? I can't remember.
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