Noah Review - A Bible Epic for the 21st Century

 When I went to see Noah, the discount Tuesday night showing was pretty well attended. As the final credits started to roll, one person burst into applause. Then a woman two rows back yelled out, "Biggest lie I ever heard! Didn't even read the Bible!"

That pretty much sums up the two kinds of reactions people have had to this year's Old Testament epic "from the director of Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky. (If he has a thing for morality tales involving birds I hope he does The Ryme of the Ancient Mariner next.) The Catholic blogosphere has had the entire gamut of opinions. Since Noah is not strictly a verse-by-verse recitation of Genesis nor made purely for evangelistic purposes, some people are disappointed.

Noah's very modern feel is a red herring distracting audiences from its true spiritual merit. Yes, the wardrobe is heavy on ankle boots and skinny jeans, evoking Urban Outfitters more than the Stone Age. Russell Crowe's Noah is a vegan who stages funerals for dead animals and has visions of the ark thanks to hallucinogenic tea. Production values are slick; there are plenty of splashy CGI explosions and mythical creatures. At times I was reminded of The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and Terrence Malick's sweeping landscapes. Unlike Son of God, Noah uses contemporary cinematography in a convincing way. Some of the images are truly stunning and worth seeing on the big screen. If Aronfsky's film feels like a blockbuster and not an indie flick, does that mean it's just a callous commercial grab?

Really, all Biblical movies are artistic reflections of their own time. Looking back to the golden age of mid-20th century Bible films, those weren't literal recitations either. Screenwriters added love triangles, pagan glam convents, and imagined conversations. As I mentioned earlier this week, Cecil B. DeMille's The 10 Commandments, arguably the greatest Bible epic ever made, certainly feels like the 1950s. Moses' vamping ex-girlfriend is a major plot device - where was she in the Bible? Anne Baxter's mad side eye may be not that different from angel/rock monster Ent knock-offs.

Even though Aronfsky pads out the slim Genesis account of Noah with his sometimes ridiculous imagination, he has still made a deeply religious movie that grapples with the big questions of human existence and its relationship to God. This isn't a 1990s self esteem pep talk about how everybody is special - it's a meditation on how we are all damaged by Original Sin. Aronfsky said as much in a recent interview: "Hearing the story of Noah [as a child], I thought about, "What if I was not one of the good ones to get on the boat? And I recognized that there’s wickedness in all of us." The God of Noah is very real and what He has to tell people matters.

Aronofsky positions Noah in a pre-history no man's land between Eden and God's chosen people of Israel. People have no image or name for God - they only know him as the very real Creator who also punishes. His will is often inscrutable, and there is no formal religion. The Fall of Adam and Eve looms large as Seth's descendants cling to a few relics and oral traditions from their ancestors' paradise. Now they are just trying to survive in a chaotic society where people's greed and appetites run out of control. The brutal, anarchic pre-flood world of Noah puts the rest of salvation history in perspective. Here, a covenant with God would be a welcome relief. If God gave, say, a list of ten ground rules for human behavior, that would be even better. God actually becoming a man to be punished for our sins? An unthinkable miracle.

The only time Noah flounders is when Aronofsky changes actual details of the Biblical account. In Genesis, all three sons Shem, Ham, and Japeth are married. The Noah movie makes procreation of the human race much more precarious, with Emma Watson's presumably barren character as the only young woman aboard the ark. Since the initial conflict of surviving the murderous hordes and the flood is over, this fertility drama takes over the third act of the film. Noah loses his marbles and becomes a scrupulous misanthrope while everyone else cowers in fear. [SPOILERS] Eventually he relents, and later gets wasted because he thinks he has failed God. Meanwhile Ham flounces off to be a celibate nomad and tween Japeth presumably joins Team Jacob and imprints on his newborn niece.

But I'm willing to forgive Russell Crowe's tedious extermination rage because it resolves in an incredibly pro-life story arc, discussing what being "made in God's image" really means. Noah and his family have just escaped a world where human life has little value. People were traded for food and dead bodies left to rot in open pits. Villain Tubal-Cain argued with God, shouting "I create life and destroy it, just like you!" Blinded by his outrage at this wickedness, Noah ignores his family's pleading and signs of God's clemency. Discernment fail. He stubbornly plows ahead doing his own will, until compassion reminds him to protect the lives in his care. In the end, family and the chance for new life win out.

Aronfsky took this angle to reinforce the Divine Mercy lesson of the Great Flood. "So what we decided to do was to align Noah with that character arc and give Noah that understanding: He understands what man has done, he wants justice, and, over the course of the film, learns mercy. What’s nice about that is that is how I think Thomas Aquinas defined righteousness: a balance of justice and mercy."

If a director quotes Thomas Aquinas as a source, that's probably a good indication that yes, he did read the Bible as well and spent a good bit of time pondering its lessons. Noah doesn't have the formal reverence of a Sunday School pageant, but it still tells a powerful story of the world longing for God's salvation. Its excellent performances take the Old Testament beyond cute animal pairs towards the old catechism question "Why did God make me?" Its themes stuck with me long after I left the theater, and have helped me appreciate the mercy God has shown His people in a new way.

The Ten Commandments Drinking Game

Source

If you're looking for some festive entertainment this Passover/Easter season, there's one Bible movie that stands as the benchmark of all others. Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments is 58 years old, but is still just as engaging and impressive as when it first toured as a road show feature. Clocking in at over three hours, it still never drags. Every shot, every set, every throwaway line by an extra is carefully arranged.

The Ten Commandments is the boss because it has gravitas to spare. Characters move like reverent statues and yet are believable and interesting. DeMille already had Bible cred because his 1927 silent film King of Kings basically invented the Jesus movie. Even so, he added an author's forward before the credits to assure audiences he was super serious about the Exodus story. It's the only movie I know of where the director parts curtains to explain both his thesis statement and his bibliography. DeMille's stated goal is "Not to create a story, but to tell a story". To prove his scholarly cred he references ancient historians Philo and Josephus, and the credits list consultations with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, and Egyptian antiques officials. The decadent set design and attention to material culture detail show that DeMille did do his homework. Moses' final wig and beard  even imitate Michelangelo's famous Moses statue.

But is The Ten Commandments really a factual account plucked from the sands of time? Not quite. Like all historical narratives, it reflects the concerns of its own era. In DeMille's case, his final movie tells us a bit about all-American post-WWII enthusiasm.His title is non-sectarian, emphasizing the moral rules that are the basis of generic Judeo-Christian values. By the 1950s Jewish Americans were no longer viewed as a suspicious foreign Other. Instead, they had been grafted into the American ideal of patriotic, God-fearing folks who defend freedom against enemies like Communism. The Cold War echoes in DeMille's prologue: "This is the story of the birth of freedom: are men the property of the state or are they to be ruled by God's law?"  Moses' final line quotes the Leviticus verse that's on the Liberty Bell: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof!" Just as 1850s abolitionists invoked Moses in their work against slavery, this 1950s movie hints that Moses would  favor democracy over totalitarian governments. 

Politics aside, The Ten Commandments is a classic because it's a spectacle, full of mid-century artistic style. Cited alongside museum collections are several contemporary novels about the Bible: Dorothy Clarke Wilson's Prince of Egypt (1949), Rev. J. H. Ingraham's Pillar of Fire (1859), and On Eagle's Wings by A. E. Southan (1937). Romanticized novelizations of Bible stories were an enduring part of American pop culture from the nineteenth century, and DeMille continues that tradition with his dramatic posing, jealous triangles and star-crossed lovers. The Luxor-inspired costumes were designed by Edith Head, the queen of Old Hollywood hourglass silhouettes who outfitted practically every movie star.

I'm not complaining; the Hollywood glamour makes it a blast to watch. Thanks to the rival male leads, there is  more fierceness than the screen can handle. If you get tired of looking at awesome stuff, the dialogue is consistently epic. My current favorite is the constrat between Moses' and Ramses' management styles. Charlton Heston is inherently a mensch, negotiating enemies into friendship and worrying about slave morale. "Blood makes poor mortar." Meanwhile Yul Brynner leans in so hard he might as well be ski jumping: "Envy is for the weak." He makes it clear what he wants from his subordinates."You have a rat's ears and a ferret's nose. Add to these the eyes of a weasel." Ancient Egypt is a man's world, and these guys are basically two business suits glaring at one another across a board room.

The Ten Commandments was one of the Easter staples of my childhood, and my siblings and I realized early on that the gravitas is more fun when you're the interactive peanut gallery. We often spent those three hours counting how many times Charlton Heston denounced the slaves' "bondage." Here's an expanded version of our drinking game, for your adult beverage or grape juice and matzoa enjoyment:

Take a sip for: 

• The words "bondage," "stiff-necked," or "Goshen."
• Restatement that Nefreteri must marry the future Pharoah
• Either Prince of Egypt wearing a skirt/sandal combo that you could imagine buying from J. Crew
• Restatement of how smoking hot Liliah is
• The phrase "held me in his arms" to refer to some form of hooking up
• Dathan talking smack about Moses
• References to Ishmael or Priam of Troy
• "Ai-yah baskets!"
• "Are you a master builder, or a master butcher?"
• "So let it be written, so let it be done!"

Take a long drink when:

• Seti implies he prefers Moses to his own son
• Memnet is a total mood-killer
• Moses' hair changes
• The scene opens on a gaggle of women chattering about men
• Sephora is an smart and confident feminist. "I will not be displayed like a caravan's wares, for Moses, or any other man."
• Nefreteri tries to seduce Moses with a long speech about garlic and pomegranates
• DeMille intones another pseudo-Biblical dramatic narration
• Nefreteri becomes a heinous nag. "Do you hear laughter, Ramses?"
• Fire or snake special effects clearly start out as drawn animation. 

Anxiously chug when:

• Yochabel almost gets crushed by that stone.
• Rameses and Nefreteri have their dramatic hate-kiss.
• Moses gets exiled and has a long thirsty walk through the desert.
• Risk-loving Joshua decides to hang around outside watching the Angel of Death arrive. 
• The chariots look they're going to trample everyone at the Red Sea.
• The adorable kids and old people who left Egypt disappear, and the entire Israelite population becomes lusty twenty-somethings ready to worship the golden calf. Plus Aaron. 
• Sephora's last conversation with Moses is about how much she loves him, and he says NOTHING. Gets me every time. 

If you're still not convinced, here's a trailer.

 

What We Wore Easter Sunday

On me- dress and cardigan: Target; shoes: Nine West via Marshall's;
necklace: Etsy; husband: New Orleans via New Jersey

For more Easter outfits, visit Fine Linen and Purple!

Happy Easter! I don't know about you, but I am a happy Triduum/candy coma. It's been a long full weekend of beautiful liturgy and spending time with friends. Last night we were out until 2am attending the Easter Vigil Mass at the Southern Baron's old parish, and then going out to a diner for a milkshake-laden afterparty. This morning we groggily went for round two at our neighborhood parish, where I was a lector at the 11am Mass. Afterwards we went into the city for lunch and lots of Catholic nerd conversation at a friend's apartment.

Even though it's a little chilly here, it was so refreshing to break out the light spring clothes. It was also a fun reminder of our wedding, since my necklace and his jacket are both from that day. The blingy string of pearls is a little too fancy for most days, but I wore it on Christmas Eve too, so I might just bust it out for all future solemnities. The dress is also a relic of my wedding planning. Back then I went through a period of silly historian angst that I didn't pick a vintage-y romantic wedding dress, so I figured a sundress would get white lace out of my system. Since then it's been a great warm weather standby.

To close things out here's one of my favorites from last night's Vigil - an Easter hymn by a colonial American composer, be still my historian heart.

What I Wore Palm Sunday

Dress: Old Navy; necklace and belt: Coldwater Creek; flats: Naturalizer

We finally have some spring weather up here. Today I didn't even need a jacket! This dress is a brand new $10  find from Old Navy and the perfect weight for spring. It's so soft and comfortable I'm tempted to wear it constantly until summer. Usually sheath style dresses are tricky on my pear-shaped figure, but all the online reviews said it ran big in the hips. Score! 

This Sunday afternoon our parish YA group went on a mini pilgrimage to the Dominican Monastery of the Most Holy Rosary in Summit. Extern Sister Mary Cecilia gave us a mini tour and told us how daily monastery life works. The nuns of Summit are mildly internet famous for their soap making business, although she was quick to tell us that's just a side gig to pay the bills. Their real work is at the heart of the Church, praying for everyone else. 

Their chapel doors are hand-me-downs from the Waldorf Astoria, how cool is that?

I had a general idea of cloisters, but it was fascinating to meet this cheery extrovert in habit and hear some specifics. She mentioned how constant intercessory prayer requires lots of faith, since you don't often see the results of your prayers. Thanks to their full prayer board of intentions, the nuns aren't hiding from the world's problems in the least. We heard how the nuns joke with each other a lot, sometimes get on each other's nerves, and spoil their golden retriever. Each monastery has its own customs, like how nuns get their religious names. They consider Dominican priests their brothers, and are excited when one comes to visit on retreat. 

Sister did reference their friendly rivalry with the Franciscans, and hinted at how Domincian cloister rules tend to be more practical than dramatic. "Oh no, we don't do the big hair chop like the Poor Clares. We just wear it however is comfortable under our veils."

At one time there were several Dominican monasteries in New Jersey, but now the Summit location is the only one. The original plan was for a square cloister walk plus a 15 altar shrine (!!), but the Great Depression made them scale back the building plans. It's still a beautiful place near a cute town, and their perpetual adoration chapel is open all day. I definitely plan to return and hear the sisters sing the Divine Office sometime.

Son of God review - Jesus Movies 2014 Edition

Read my prior roundup of Jesus movies here. 

This year's new life of Christ film is derived from Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's television miniseries The Bible. I hadn't seen the series, so I was curious to check out the feature-length version. There hasn't been a full-fledged Gospel theatrical release since The Passion of the Christ a decade ago. Does Son of God further advance the genre?

Pros: The story is narrated by aging St. John in exile on Patmos. His gospel's "In the beginning was the Word..." intro leads us through an Old Testament montage before diving straight into Jesus' public ministry. This is a great contextual and theological set-up.

Cons: Sadly, the initial Incarnation focus gets lost as the narrative tries to be as generic and uncontroversial as possible. Other reviews have aptly compared it to a greatest hits montage played by a cover band. It's really an amalgamation of History Channel footage, and it shows.

Notable performances: As usual, the villains are often the most interesting. Judas is a straightforward creep who becomes Caiaphas' flunky. The high priest is in turn pushed around by Pilate, whose retribution he fears. Pilate is a stone-cold meany spilling Israelite blood in between massages and reclining dinners, but deep down he's worried about his own career too. In the Sanhedrin's negotiations with Pilate about Jesus' execution, he seems to view them with the exasperation one reserves for that particularly annoying co-worker. "Why are you bothering me about this guy when he's your problem? Oh, and now you're gonna nitpick how I wrote that sign?"

There's a token pharisee who initially gets annoyed when people ditch him for Jesus, and then somehow manages to be in the peanut gallery of every scene. His escalating outrage and jealousy are pretty fun. After each miracle I expected him to blurt out a Gob Bluth "Oh, COME ON!" Speaking of obnoxious people, Thomas is among the most vocal of the Apostles, whining with doubt about everything. At one point Peter just has to tell him to shut his trap and act in faith already.

Favorite scenes: Most of the scenes are pretty paint-by-numbers, but sometimes there are creative insights. For example, the woman caught in adultery has a small child who's upset by her mother's possible stoning. This perfectly emphasizes the human dignity Jesus is defending, and shows how the woman's  sinful life was still important to others. There are some interesting Eucharistic references, like Judas gagging on unleavened bread as he flees the Last Supper or Peter rushing to say Mass as soon as he realizes Jesus is alive and they better remember him like he asked.  Possibly my favorite parts were the innovative scenes during Christ's agony in Gethsemane. The camera cuts from his anguished prayers to the Sanhedrin reciting Psalms to Pilate and his wife burning incense to their ancestors, all praying with different motivations.

What The Frankincense: Complaining that the holes in Jesus' hands didn't look "real" enough sounds really pedantic, so I'll just mention this - Cee Lo Green does the closing credits song. Which is the theologically suspect "Mary Did You Know." Umm ok? I'll take Cee Lo's tunes however I can get them.

Jesus rating: 1 out of 5. This Jesus is not only bland, he's annoying. His perfect beachy waves of hair and knowing closed-mouth smile reminded me of another resurrected TV character - Alison, the leading Mean Girl and possibly dead frenemy on Pretty Little Liars.

I mean, look at this.  

Despite the smug grins, this Jesus is surprisingly ignorant. He gets telepathic flash-forward knowledge of future events at the last minute. For instance, only after embracing Peter at his promise of loyalty does Jesus get a precog vision of denial and roosters crowing.

Even worse, this Jesus spouts trite inspirational slogans. It's like the screenwriters had to abridge the already straightforward dialogue of the Gospels. In his first scene, Christ recruits Peter not with the clever "fisher of men" line, but by saying they will "change the world." It's the worst during the Passion scenes. Instead of prophecies and the epic Last Supper soliloquy of John's gospel, Jesus speaks in glib phrases that belong on a cat poster.  John bursts into tears at predictions of Jesus death; the Master tells him to "Trust in God." When Mary meets her Son carrying the cross, he says "All things are possible with God!"

Mary was probably thinking "What things exactly? How about you not dying, is that possible? Or is this a really bad hint at the resurrection?" The Passion of the Christ did it better. Jim Caviezel's Jesus tells Mary, "See mother, I make all things new," actually explaining the purpose of his suffering. Despite his title, Son of God  doesn't offer any real answers to life's big questions of suffering, sin, and redemption. 

Cinematic value: This brings me to my final point - this movie's greatest value was how it made me better appreciate its predecessors. Son of God's knock-off imitations show the endurance of Passion of the Christ's artistic legacy. Whether it inspired you or grossed you out, PoTC did offer some innovative visuals. Son of God's Passion sequence pulls out the same set pieces but doesn't execute them as well. There's the slow-mo dramatic music for the Sanhedrin so you know they are baaaaaad guuuuuuuuuys. There's Mary watching the scourging from afar and Jesus kissing the cross before he lifts it. There's the copious blood that makes gravel stick to Jesus' unrecognizable face. Unfortunately, instead of Jim Caviezel's poignant facial expressions we just get close-ups of the bloody drool streaming from Diogo Morgado's' lower lip.

Extreme close-ups and other distracting camera tricks are really the film's undoing. Only the most hipster bar in Williamsburg is this focused on beards. By the end  I was well-acquainted with every character's facial hair follicles as well as the state of their pores. The constant zooming may have been to compensate for lackluster sets, or to lend gravitas. When scenes finally do pan out, there are indiscriminate lens flares and amateurish GCI of Jerusalem. Again, there is another film predecessor that did this better: Jesus of Nazareth. Franco Zefferelli's Jesus flick was also a made-for-TV miniseries, but that didn't stop him from shooting sweeping landscapes, dramatically lit sets, and an impressive temple courtyard.

Bottom Line: While it would be fine to show in a classroom or as a TV Easter special, this is not a Jesus movie I would go out of my way to purchase and rewatch. There's been some critical discussion of whether it's disingenuous to charge audiences big screen prices to see a previously aired television program plus deleted scenes. Downey and Burnett have responded that it's an evangelization effort; they want to get the message of Jesus out to as many people as they can. Unfortunately, their Jesus is too much of a bland nice guy to inspire lifelong devotion.