Noah

 NOAH

Director : Darren Aronofsky

Year : 2014

Genre : Fantasy

Rating : ****

If there is one thing that gets under peoples noses, it is the portrayal of religion. And as the course of movie history has proved time and time again, films set around or based on a religious text are hot contenders for vitriolic controversy, hostility and even in some cases, censorship. Dating back to the golden days of Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Ten Commandments', the reconstruction of major sacred events (especially events from Christianity) have continually proved to be problematic for filmmakers and far too edgy for the cinema going public. Of course there are some pictures that are just magnets for controversy such as Mel Gibsons ultra violent bloodstained Easter epic 'The Passion Of The Christ' or Monty Python's misunderstood comic masterpiece 'The Life Of Brian' but some can slip by thanks to a respect for the text or the directorial eye of a profound and respected filmmaker. Sadly 'Noah', the latest film from writer, director and visionary Darren Aronofsky has fallen into the former.

Telling the fabled story from the Old Testament of a man who builds an ark to save the animals of the world from an imminent flood sent by God, 'Noah' has been met with full bodied hatred from ultra conservative Christian and Jewish groups and even bans in numerous Asian countries such as Qatar, Pakistan and The UAE due to it's depiction of the prophet. It is indeed true that Aronofsky has embellished the four paragraph long text from the Bible and it is true that some artistic liberties have been taken that don't always work but as an agnostic borderline atheist, I found 'Noah' to be a hugely affecting, lyrical and spellbinding motion picture that utilises the acting talents of some of the biggest stars in Hollywood and awe inspiring special effects to tell a story that is all at once thrilling, beautiful, scary and very, very entertaining. As a non believer, I don't care about how faithful or how respectful an adaptation of a certain religious text is. As a film lover, I only care about whether it succeeds as a watchable and involving movie and 'Noah' must certainly does.

Darren Aronofsky is a director whose work has never failed to impress me. Many of his films such as 'The Wrestler', 'Black Swan', 'Requiem For A Dream' and 'The Fountain' have all featured in my top 10's for their respective years and as of April, 'Noah' follows suit. While many of his previous works have been made under a fairly low budget, 'Noah' has cost $125m, making it the most expensive production Aronofsky has ever worked on. A higher budget means more special effects and big action set pieces and he really pushes the boat out (literally) when it comes to scale and scope. The scenes of Noah actually building the ark (with the help of giant 'Shadow Of The Colossus' rock monsters) are incredibly impressive, the numerous fight scenes are executed and choreographed in a very violent and realistic way and the eventual flood is just as spectacular and epic as you would expect from a multi million dollar production of this size; all of which are underpinned by Clint Mansells hypnotic swirling and sweeping soundtrack.

While the film provides us with many moments of jaw droppingly innovative and imaginative sights such as a beautifully strange montage of the creation of Earth and Adam and Eve disobeying God in the Garden of Eden, not every single one convinces. While the more mystical and fantastical elements are combined with the live action footage in a very convincing way, the animal effects really do not. They reminded me much more of 'Zoo Tycoon' than a safari and this does detract when we see hundreds upon hundreds of unconvincing CGI creatures lumbering and slithering their way towards the giant arc. Now, this may be due to the high level of special effects used previously in the film or it might just be due to my overall accustom and desensitization to computer effects. Whatever the reason may be and while the animals didn't quite do it for me, Aronofsky still manages to sustain an incredible air of threat and impending disaster so it is very easy to overlook the lesser elements of 'Noah'. The animals are only one part of the story and thankfully, a huge majority of the rest of the narrative is done very, very well indeed.

Playing Noah we have Russell Crowe, an actor who while still able to deliver fine performance has seemed to drop of the radar recently. Of course, he has appeared in a number of high profile films such as 'Les Miserables', 'American Gangster', 'Man Of Steel' and 'Broken City' but not since 2010's mega - rubbish 'Robin Hood' has he taken on a central starring role. Thankfully, he is right at the forefront of 'Noah' and it is shouting, snarling performance that is key to why the movie works as well as it does. Playing a man who is battling against his faith and his values, he is at first reluctant to do the task assigned to him by God as he believes that as a human being, he doesn't have the power or the right to do such a monumental and seemingly impossible job. Instead he believes that he, like the rest of humanity should be wiped off the face of the planet, leaving the world in a state of nirvanic calm and peace. For a big budget action blockbuster, these are very strong ideological themes and because of this, the film goes into places that I most definitely did not expect it to. Bordering on the psychotic, Noah is desperate to perform his sacred task to the best of his ability while still continuing to believe that he or his family do not possess the right to live and this gives the movie a secondary level of threat and underlying danger. We do not know how Noah's mind truly works and we don't even know if God is really saying all of these things to him and because of this, we are just as nervous about Noah and the actions he could spontaneously take as we are of the monstrous flood and the death that surrounds it. Now, some may argue that this detracts entirely from the character of Noah written in the Bible. I say that this makes the titular prophet so much more identifiable and ultimately human.

While the character of Noah may be so wrapped up in his own agenda that is is ultimately impenetrable or relatable, the rest of his family most certainly is. Jennifer Connolly (who worked with Aronofsky on the magnificent 'Requiem For A Dream') is wonderful in the rather thankless role of Noah's doting but terrrified wife Naameh, Emma Watson is unbelievably good as Ila, Noah's adopted daughter and Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth are both great as Noah's sons Shem and Ham respectively. There is also a supporting role from Anthony Hopkins as the wise Methuselah and he brings the same gravitas and depth as he does to everything else he features in.

If there is one character who I would say is not really necessary to the story it is Tubal - Cain, the King of the doomed wicked played with some gusto by Ray Winstone. Set to take over the ark, kill Noah and survive the oncoming flood, Tubal - cain is the main antagonist of the picture and in any other story, he would be convincingly threatening. He is the personification of all of the wicked people on the planet and the leader of those who want to survive the apocalypse, ready to kill anyone who stands in his way. But when put against a flood that is going to cover the Earth and destroy everything in it's path, he really pales in comparison. I can see why Aronofsky wrote this character and as I say Winstone gives a very good performance. I'm just not so sure that he was really needed because he is a flea on the elephant of the problems that Noah faces in the course of the film.

If you believe in the words of the Bible and the story of Noah, then I can completely understand why you may be angry with this film. It takes many liberties with the hallowed text and transforms it into something much grander and blaze than anything wrote in the Old Testament. However, if you can overlook the many artistic liberties and various changes that Darren Aronofsky has made then you will discover a hugely involving and very impressive piece of work. Russell Crowe is dead on brilliant as the confused and frustrated Noah, the supporting cast, particularly Emma Watson do a unanimously wonderful job and the special effects really help to enhance the scope and size of the picture. As I say, not all of the decisions completely work and there are some moments and set pieces that come across as very, very silly. But when all is said and done, 'Noah' is a visually arresting, very well acted and very well handled story that has been made with utmost respect for the text and respect for it's viewing audience. If you want to know the 'true' story of Noah, read the Bible. If you want the story of Noah told in a compelling, entertaining and surprisingly suspenseful way, thank Darren Aronofsky.