Noah (2014)

Movie Info

If you build it, they will come…

Noah (Russell Crowe) has been given a vision of a great flood and knows man’s fate is decided.  With his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly) and his sons Shem (Douglas Booth), Ham (Logan Lerman), and Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll), Noah sets out to make a great ark to save the innocents of Earth and give the animals a chance to repopulate the planet.  Noah journeys to find his grandfather Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins) and saves a young girl named Ila (Emma Watson) in the process from the despot ruler Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone) and his men.  With the fallen angels known as the Watchers on his side, Noah begins his destiny…but finds bearing the future of the world might be more difficult than he imagined.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Noah is a sci-fi fantasy adaptation of the Biblical story.  The movie was met with controversy over its handling of the source material but was generally well received by critics and film-goers.

Remember in the Bible where the rock fallen angels fought the army of Cain?

Noah seems like the perfect storm (pardon the pun).  It’s a Bible movie, extremely long, and stars Russell Crowe…three things I’m not particularly interested in watching.  What Noah did do that made me interested was the visionary Darren Aronofsky at the helm…and this is what made Noah tolerable but not great.

What is interesting about Noah is that Aronofsky basically said “I want to make a fantasy that happens to be based on a story the Bible”.  He took a lot of elements of the Bible and added and fleshed out a story.  The history and lives of the characters within the story is rather rich, and the idea of Earth at such a young age does provide a different perspective on life.  Some might be offended that the story was “altered” but it was necessary to make a movie.  It is too bad however that the story is long and dull at many points.

Hey, it floats…kind of the RV of the ocean

Russell Crowe plays Russell Crowe in the movie.  Just like every movie, he’s dark and brooding.  Aronofsky partially cast him for this reason and wanted an actor who could be intimidating to make the story work (especially the second half).  Despite loving him in L.A. Confidential, Crowe usually leaves me kind of flat.  Jennifer Connelly (who played Crowe’s wife in A Beautiful Mind as well) is good but also doesn’t really get much of an opportunity to expand her role.  I found Ray Winstone’s character interesting but underexplored and Anthony Hopkins’ character just didn’t get incorporated enough.  Both boys were rather blasé, but Emma Watson continues to prove that she’s got acting chops as Ila.

Take a bite

The visuals are what save the movie.  The movie features some odd choices (like the rocky fallen angels called the Watchers), but the choice to make the ark simply a floating wooden box is considered more historically accurate since it wasn’t built to sail but simply to float.  If nothing else about Noah, watch Noah’s telling of the Creation story and the fall of Eden about half way through the film.  It is visually stunning and worth checking out.

Noah is an odd movie.  It is a very religious movie (with angels, God, and Eden), but it also isn’t very religious because it has been turned into a sci-fi fantasy.  This really splits the audience and makes it hard to appeal to anyone.  I gave Noah a chance but found it a bit tedious with moments of greatness.  I do recommend the film for some aspects of this odd dichotomy, but I can’t say it is the best experience you’ll ever have.