Noah Official Trailer
You better build an ark, Noah, there are some heavy rains coming. That part does not change. However, Director Darren "Black Swan" Aronofsky does juggle the characters just a bit to make it fit his version of Noah, the flood, and the end of wicked and violent mankind. I read the Genesis version in my NIV Bible shortly before going to see Noah to brush up on the basic story. The Flood, Noah, his wife and three sons and daughters-in-law consist of only four chapters (6-9) which leaves a lot of room for "fill in the blanks." And Hollywood apparently is quite comfortable in shuffling the deck.
I found the biblical variations acceptable but distracting. I don't go to the movies to learn out about the bible. Bible movies are always a result of humans which makes it suspect. I go to a movie to be entertained. And Noah was entertaining in my IMAX theatre #12 at First Colony AMC in a Russell-Crowe-kind-of-way. Yes, Noah is played by RC and he delivers the intensity and spiritual conflict as directed by Aronofsky. I liked Noah's hair; especially the close buzz with a long, disheveled beard.
The Noah & his family members were survivors as was everyone during those times. (Sans the ones who did not make it on the ark). They lived off the land and had relationships with the other humans and animals living near them. Sometimes friendly; sometimes not so friendly. These people had dirt under their fingernails and were able to put all of their belongs on their back and move to the next spot to make a "home."
Aronofsky chose to have "The Creator" communicate via dreams rather than a voice of God by Morgan Freeman. I thought the dreams lacked clarity, but it did allow Aronofsky to craft his own version because as one of the co-writers, he fashioned the dreams and the interpretations. If Larry H. was the director, he would have used Morgan Freeman.
The family of Noah consisted of a strong female feature with "Naameh" aka Mrs. Noah played by Jennifer Connelly with very little make-up; she still looked good. To make the family even more interesting, they picked up a young, injured girl named "Ila" (Emma "Harry Potter" Watson) who was also awarded a seat in the Ark. I don't remember Ila in Moses' five books.
The cinematography was divine and I'm told by Crowe in one of his many TV appearances that much of the movie was shot in Iceland; the mountains and cliffs are spectacular. The costumes were interesting, but I thought they were too advance for Noah and clan. The knives and spears were about right.
I spoke to one of my Catholic friends after the movie, and he wanted to know about the trailer he saw on TV that involved a "battle." Well, you'll just have to wait and see how Aronofsky handles that subject because Moses did not cover it. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 89. Larry H.