“Creation” purports to tell the story behind ‘the biggest single idea in the history of thought’ – the writing of Charles Darwin’s 1859 treatise on evolution, On the Origin of Species. By choosing to focus on the loss of Darwin’s 10-year-old daughter Annie, director Jon Amiel turns this movie into a lackluster melodrama about grief and loss instead of developing the conflict between religious creation and scientific discovery. And some of Darwin’s ideas, developed while he was a young man sailing on the HMS Beagle, are only seen briefly in flashbacks. Plus Amiel jumps back and forth in time so often it’s hard to know what’s happening. Although Paul Bettany’s performance as the tormented Darwin is overly emotional, that does allow him to delve into Darwin’s personal struggle to come to terms with his revolutionary ideas. Jennifer Connelly’s Emma is tolerant of her husband’s scientific interests, but worried about his soul. “Creation” was based on a book by Randal Keynes, Darwin’s great-great-grandson and while it might be an accurate portrait, it is not revealing (or interesting) enough for me to recommend. 1/22/10
1 comment:
I knew that Charles Darwin was an interesting fellow but this movie was not at all what I expected. I thought this film was about an earth shattering scientific discovery that turned our world upside down and caused a social rift that has never mended. This picture was about a grief stricken man feeling guilty about marrying his cousin!? This movie is a waste of my time and for everyone involved.
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