NOAH

Noah is a tremendously unreliable representation of the familiar Bible tale. Co-writer/ director Darren Aronofsky’s Noah is a God-fearing vegan and probably the pioneer member of P.E.T.A. Noah envisions an underwater Armageddon which prompts him to believe that God will flood the Earth in order for a global cleansing. So he builds a wooden ocean-liner, stocks it up with two of every animal and along with his wife, three sons and adopted daughter sets sail for greener pastures. Russell Crowe leads a group of talented actors who all give noteworthy performances. The look of the film is dark and dreary with hints of vibrant greens. The score is memorable and adds to the overall feel but the special effects are questionable at times, especially the serpent that looks like a sock-puppet and the rock creatures that look like low-cost versions of ‘Ents’ from Lord of the Rings. The major disparagement towards the film is the utter contradictory nature of the character, Noah. This saviour of animals has no guilt or remorse when killing his fellow human beings. He is relentlessly unsympathetic to his own family as well; whatever happened to ‘charity begins at home?’ The bounty of biblical inaccuracies is testimony that Noah is merely Aronofsky’s rendition of Lord of the Rings. By and large the message of the movie is erratically inconsistent and sinks this film before it can swim.

Rating: 6/10

S. V. Fernando