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Noah (2014)
Daniel's Review
The film ‘Noah’ has had a lot of controversy prior to its release of not being the best representation of the story.
I for one, had a good time with this film.
I don’t really know the story of 'Noah', other than he builds an ark for animals and there's a flood, thanks to 2007’s ‘Evan Almighty’, but ‘Noah’ changes some of the aspects of the story of Noah and makes it a great movie going experience.
From the opening credits to the amazing visual effects that they’ve created this universe that feels like it is from a ‘Lord of the Rings’ film, but this universe is inviting and imaginative.
‘Noah’ is an incredible ride from start to finish.
The acting is top-notch from the entire cast.
The score is delightful and the script is excellent.
It does lose steam half-way through as the film slows down a little, but this is to build up the tension and the drama for the rest of the film. The film might have tweaked the story of 'Noah', but it is done for entertainment value as many films adapted from stories, novels or true stories are always different from its movie version, examples include the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise, ‘The Social Network’ and many more.
‘Noah’ is full of drama, action and heartfelt.
‘Noah’ is a film that I was totally surprised by, as I enjoyed this film from beginning to the end.
Score: 8.5/10
Published: March 29th, 2014
Details
Review
Release Date: March 27th, 2014
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Runtime: 138 mins
Rated: M
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Nic's Review
To me, it's a wonder more films aren't made based on religious stories. More so than you're ordinary novel or play, they come prepackaged with the intense themes that films thrive on. Humanity is always at the forefront; good and evil, life and death. So it should be unsurprising that Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah' squeezes the harrowing aspects from the popular Bible tale to the extent of confrontation. Because there are some truly brutal images in this film, brutal ideas, and it is one of the darkest films I've seen in a while, at least since last year's 'Trance'.
The blurring of good and evil is played out brilliantly in the character of Noah, and Russell Crowe's heart-stopping performance only amplifies this. Noah's willingness to blindly follow 'the Creator', and his resulting transformation, can be interpreted a number of ways, both altruistic and sinister, but my take is that the film is an allegory of the present day. That is, Noah, even when he calls for divine intervention, must make the most brutal decisions on his own and, coupled with man's evil side being represented by his merciless mutilation of nature, seems to me to parallel the natural threat of climate change and if we are to survive we, and we alone, must decide what is right and wrong. We too face a 'great flood' metaphorically speaking, a chance to wipe the slate clean.
In short, Aronofsky makes us question the role of man in the natural world. If we have a place, do we use it for good or evil?
And if good, what defines good?
These kinds of existential themes are at the heart of 'Noah' and why the film is so intriguing as a whole. Several moments made me literally hold my breath, while others figuratively broke my heart.
I know much of the discussion of this film is around its religious faithfulness, but these critics, in my opinion, are missing the point. The Bible story is just a vehicle that Aronofsky uses to tell a grander, more universally relevant tale that we should all spare a moment to think about. Religious tales, believe them or not, and films, believe them or not, ring with truths about the human condition.
What Aronofsky has crafted is a perfect union of the two that remains afloat despite its heavy subject matter.
Score: 8.5/10