A Biblical, Personal, Un-Monumental Epic. And Thankfully So.

NOAH
(2014)

Directed by- Darren Aronofsky

Written by- Ari Handel, Darren Aronofsky

*Russel Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins


A heartfelt and honest retelling of the Noah's Ark story told through the method of lesser fancy money shots and more focused storytelling and character building.
There were the makings of an epic but Aronofsky never goes overboard and maintains a solid balance between the grand scale of the story and its personal nature. Something I dare Ridley to not do with his upcoming biblical epic.

The performances were very good and every actor got a chance to take center-stage and flaunt their acting chops, but it was, without a doubt, Crowe's movie. From beginning to end he wonderfully plays the haunted and torn messiah to a new humanity.
I have been noticing him play the same gruff, frowny roles lately, but here he completely inhabits the character, and even if his Noah is just an extension of the 'Russell Crowe character', it's perfect that way.


The music and the visuals add greatly to the film.
Clint Mansell provides a superb score which wonderfully accentuates the narrative and kicks in at the perfect moments.
Whereas, Matthew Libatique's cinematography is a treat. I really enjoyed the time-lapse sequences, particularly Genesis and the History of Man.

However, the film is not without its fallacies, most prominent of them being the patchy writing. The film *almost* faithfully follows Noah's story in the first half but deviates to a more personal, seemingly The Searchers inspired arc in the second, which is, well, predictable to say the least.


The resolution is fair, but it just leaves you a bit underwhelmed and wanting.
I know it would be foolish to expect a spectacle akin to the Parting of the Red Sea, but I felt the film could have done with a bit of grandeur in its visual style. Of course, Aronofsky's refrainment from going the blockbuster way was evident and well appreciated, but I still felt the film lacked a certain 'God-punch' which it could have used to execute a better payoff than orgasmic rainbows.

 

A nice film which tells a beautiful story in its own way and leaves you satisfied. Masterfully underplayed and splendidly executed though a bit lazily told.

Rating- 3.6/5