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Written by John Draper
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Thursday, 10 September 2009 23:18 |
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Creation had its world premiere tonight (Sept 10) at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. Based on the book by Randall Keynes, the film is a story of the man more than his science. It starts with Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) struggling with his health and with the conflicts that he sees that his science will create. His friend Thomas Huxley (Toby Jones) says that he is "killing God" and that the end of Religion would be good because then "we'd be rid of the Archbishops and their terrifying stories of hell". But Darwin has two problems - his wife Annie (Jennifer Connolly) is a devout Christian who believes that their dead daughter is now in Heaven and Darwin believes that the fabric of society is held together by the institution of the Church.
 When Darwin is distraught at the thought that God could be so cruel in his Creation with all the unnecessary death and pain, he is told we should not question His intent. But apart from these comments and some talk about selective breeding of pigeons, the film is primarily about Darwin and his love for his wife and children - particularly his eldest Annie (Martha West). I found the film slow to start - I suppose you have to set the scene but it did not grab me until about half way when the strong emotions started to come across. I won't spoil it for you by giving details but Darwin and his wife even reconciled her distaste for his work and his disdain for Religion.
The film is billed as the war between Religion and Science and covers Darwin's life during the time he was struggling with his concepts which were revolutionary at the time. It clearly shows how Darwin did not set out to contradict Religion but thought that Scientific discoveries had to be published. There are some moments that make you cringe a bit - using the pointed finger a la Leonardo de Vinci to "connect" to Creation and the inclusion of an orangutan with the implication of its relationship to men. But generally it presented Darwin's ideas well. One thing that might make theists raise an eyebrow was its portrayal of Darwin as the one who had the most sympathy and empathy for suffering. But then, that would not be a surprise to atheists.
Acting was good and in the case of Paul Bettany, superb. It kept my attention the whole time, cinematography was good and the overall effect left me feeling good about the man, his wife and the world. As a movie, I would rate it 4 stars out of 5.
Update - September 25, 2009
This movie will now be distributed in all Western Countries including the U.S. - story on U.S. Distributor here.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 31 October 2009 18:03 |
