Creation

Creation

Creation is in many ways a strong movie, but the most remarkable fact about it is that the U.S. was one of the last countries to secure a distribution deal.

Was this because there was no market for the film? Or no bankable stars attached?

Well, no - when you have the likes of Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, lack of stardom will never be the issue. Even director Jon Amiel has had international success with Copycat and Entrapment.

The sole reason why American distributors were so reluctant to fall in behind Creation was the fact that it deals with Darwin's theories of evolution. That's right - even in 2010 Darwin's position is considered controversial in certain quarters, and the Bible-thumpers seemingly still want to wipe him from the slate of history. George Bush has a lot to answer for.

Creation doesn't shy away from the difficult questions raised by the Evolution vs. Religion controversy, and in many ways it faces them head-on. While Bettany plays a young Charles Darwin, Jeremy Northam appears as his friend the Reverend John Brodie-Innes. The pair of them repeatedly bicker and spar over their differences, and there's so much time given to the various arguments that you'd be forgiven for thinking that Darwin's theories were still unproven.

The narrative comes at Darwin's achievements from an unusual angle, winding around them via his mental and physical anguish following his daughter's death, and Bettany proves once again that he's an incredibly talented and underused actor. As the screenplay winds in and out of reality and fantasy, high science and low melodrama, it's Bettany that holds it all together. I'll go out on a limb and predict an Oscar nomination for him within the next five years - all he needs is the right movie.

Unfortunately Creation isn't it. While it's competently put together and unusually revealing in its human angle on one of history's giants, it too often feels like a sentimental made-for-TV melodrama, and the final payoff is so misty-eyed that you could almost make a Hallmark card out of it. Connelly's accent is a little uneven too, and the end result is less impressive than Darwin's achievements deserve.

Still, Bettany shines as always, and a wily orangutan almost upstages everybody in its few touching scenes. Maybe the great ape will be joining Bettany on that podium sometime soon.

3/5

Super Marcey's Creation Review

Rating: 4/5

Creation is a biopic about Charles Darwin, during the period in his life when he wrote 'The Origin Of Species'. Darwin at this point in his life struggles with his ideas, science and religion. All the while he is suffering from an unknown illness, the loss of a child and a strained relationship with his life. Charles Darwin is played by Paul Bettany, a great actor who does great work here. His wife Emma Darwin is played by his real life wife Jennifer Connelly, who is a great actress and guess what? She does great work here too. Jeremy Northam plays the Reverend Innes, another great performance for the film. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Joseph Hooker, and yes I am going to use the word great here again. The real stand out performance however is from Martha West who plays Annie Darwin their daughter.

At the heart of this film lies the relationship between Charles and his daughter Annie, they have this close bond, she loves her father and she listens to him. She sees what he sees, she is intelligent and in a way it felt like she wanted to be like him. Her loss affects him greatly, and it is handled so carefully in this film and in such a way you can see the cracks showing with Charles. You do not know how it happened though, you do work out however that Annie has passed on and as the film progresses you slowly see the events leading up to it and why his relationship with Emma has gone the way it has. This film is not told in chronological order and that actually worked fine for me. If you aren't familiar with Charles Darwin you will find a few surprises here and there. I found this film had some amazing moments, like the story Annie always wants to hear her father tell about an orangutang and his relationship with her.

As I mentioned earlier, the performances are all great and they really make this film work. Great casting all round, with some great chemistry flowing between all the actors. It is too bad Tobey Jones had a cameo and his role wasn't bigger, that man is pretty fantastic all round. Despite how you might feel about the man, this story does make for an interesting and touching film. They chose to tell a story at this difficult period in his life, all the while he managed to write one of the most important books. The cinematography is really quite amazing, it really captures the time and the mood of the film. The costume design is really fantastic as well, so well done, I really liked it. The make-up as well was top notch, as they really made Paul Bettany almost unrecognisable and there is quite a decent likeness with Charles. Creation is a really well made film, very solid and a different kind of biopic. Where most tell the story from the early days to the last days, this one picks a period of time and goes from there. I actually would welcome another film with the same people behind it, telling the stories of other aspects of his life. Everything just really worked and came together so well, I enjoyed watching this quite a lot.


(First written March 6 2010, first published at SuperMarcey.com)

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Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-03-06 04:23:10 by SuperMarcey

Creation

This movie is right in my wheelhouse.

Written about the man I consider the most accomplished human ever -- Charles Darwin -- by screenwriter John Collee, who penned my favorite movie of the 00's -- "Master and Commander" -- and featuring that movie's co-star, Mr. Jennifer Connelly, "Creation" has a wonderful pedigree.

So I'm disappointed it doesn't quite live up to expectations.

Which is not to say "Creation" is a bad movie. It's not.

It tells the story of Charles Darwin, the nineteenth century British scientist who -- oh, you know who Darwin is!

Specifically, it tells the story of Darwin's attempt to overcome his grief at the loss of his beloved child Annie. This is complicated by the fact that he is also wrestling with the unfinished manuscript that will become his monumental "The Origin of Species."

Darwin's problem is: by producing the first explanation of human existence superior to that offered by the Bible, the completion of "Origin" will kill God. Not just in the public consciousness, but in Darwin's own heart. And with God will die any hope Darwin has that he will ever be reunited with his precious Annie.

Neat idea for a movie!

Helping matters is the fact that Darwin's wife, Emma, is played by Mr. Jennifer Connelly's real-life wife, Mrs. Jennifer Connelly. Woo hoo!


The movie is really a love triangle between Darwin, his wife Emma and his daughter Annie (who has a major role through Darwin's grief-induced hallucinations.) Darwin's heart belongs to his deceased Annie, and until he lets her go -- and publishes his damn book -- he can't be a loving husband to Mrs. Jennifer Connelly, or a loving father to his other three children.


In the end he does what has to be done. He and the Mrs. share their deepest feelings of grief and guilt with each other. All is made well.

Oh yeah, and he also makes history with the publication of his book.

And I guess that's where "Creation" lets me down. By restricting its scope to the personal, much of the sweep and charm of Darwin's long march to immortality is left out.

Darwin's scientific buddies, Joseph Hooker and Thomas Huxley, are given only a single scene and their task is largely expositional.

Historically, Hooker and Huxley stood in for Darwin (a hypochondriac who was home throwing up) at a famous scientific debate at Oxford University in 1860, shortly following the publication of "Origin." Their opponents were the diabolically evil Richard Owen and the misguided prelate, Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.

The debate grew extremely heated, till at one point Wilberforce demanded that Huxley explain from which side of his family he claimed to have descended from a monkey. Huxley whispered to Hooker, "The Lord hath delivered him to my hands," stood up and proclaimed, "I would rather have a monkey for a grandfather than such as man as this!" (meaning Wilberforce)

The crowd turned riotous. Tables were overturned, women fainted and the debate was over.

If you're going to make a movie about Darwin, how can you leave that scene out? 

SCORE

How Accomplished: 72/100

How Much I Enjoyed: 79/100

SCORE (Jennifer Connelly's Physical Appearance)

How Accomplished: 99/100

How Much I Enjoy: 101/100

Science vs. Religion, Family vs. Melodrama

The film is worth a watch, probably rented on DVD as opposed to in theaters. It presents an argument (science vs. religion) that has been raging since Darwin's time, and it does so without forcing the audience in either direction. No one can deny the importance of such an argument, and that alone gives the film some weight. Sadly, the film ultimately abandons this line of thought in favor of family melodrama, centered on Darwin and his wife. This is also well-executed, but it fails to maintain the very high initial level of interest. Nonetheless, in both halves Paul Bettany gives a noteworthy performance as Darwin himself.

After watching the film, I found the trailer to be rather misleading. It focuses solely on the first half of the film (science vs. religion), and frankly the film should have as well. In spite of this, overall it is a well-made period piece that people should check out. Fans of melodrama will probably enjoy it more than those who were looking for evolutionary debate, but it contains enough of both to keep audiences interested.

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Vincent Snavely