NOAH

I've always had a problem with the Bible; well, the Old Testament to be exact. The historical basis of the New Testament is largely beyond dispute, after which you believe or don't believe (the literal story of Jesus) depending on your faith or lack of it but the Old Testament is a totally different ball game; all that business with Methuselah living 900 years and Jonah checking into the belly of a whale and even if you sign up to the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel etc you still have, on the one hand, the theory of evolution to contend with and, on the other, the notion that the Biblical God is both vengeful and unforgiving. The story of Noah is probably the most problematic of all; that God should have decided to destroy the whole world and just save Noah, Mrs Noah and all the little Noahs which family would, in effect, become the new Adam and Eve.
Darren Aronofsky's telling of the Noah saga has been criticised as not adhering strictly to the Bible but if it had done would it have been any less far-fetched? Admittedly Aronofsky's NOAH is more Marvel Comics than Holy Scripture but would a literal reading been any more believable to non-Christians or even sceptical Christians? I doubt it, so what we have here is the story of Noah and his ark for a universal audience more familiar with the film versions of the Lord of the Rings saga. Does it work? Damned right it does.

This is a movie of two halves. Part one is a "Dawn of Time" epic complete with stone giants come to life, (very handy when you need to build an ark), and Anthony Hopkins as a Methuselah coming to the end of his 900 years. Part two is an altogether darker affair as Noah, (a remarkably good Russell Crowe), take it on himself to be judge, jury and even executioner all in the name of God, (or as He is known here, the Creator). Ring any bells? Judging from this movie all the terrible deeds carried out in the name of religion down through the millennia can be traced back to Noah. It's certainly a theory and a movie that will alienate a lot of people but as Biblical pictures go this is one that dares to be different and stick its neck out.

It's also very well acted, perhaps surprisingly so since the script doesn't give the characters a great deal to work with. Crowe, as I've said, is excellent as Noah while Jennifer Connelly is positively brilliant as the wife who finds the man she married isn't quite the man she imagined he was while Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson and Ray Winstone work wonders with underwritten roles. The brilliant cinematography is by Matthew Libatique and the special effects are superb but ultimately this is Aronofsky's vision; bold, imaginative and well worth seeing.