“Noah” is an insane movie experience.
The two-hour-plus nightmare drama, starring Russell Crowe (“Gladiator,” “Les Miserables”) as the titular character and directed by Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”), is an artful, exhilarating, surreal work that sometimes gets frustratingly bogged down in blockbuster cliches.
It changes one of the most iconic stories in the best-selling book of all time, the Bible, into a fever-vision parable for modern human greed and corruption of the Earth. The movie delivers a warning that unless we change our polluting ways, there will be disastrous consequences.
In this sense, the movie succeeds. Some of the most moving parts of “Noah” are the scenes in which nature is shown in all its beauty.
A couple of visually stunning sequences — one showing all different species of animals streaming onto the ark en masse and another an animated retelling of the beginning of the universe — not only entertain but showcase a rare artistic vision. The ending of the movie makes sure we know where Aronofsky, interestingly a self-proclaimed atheist, stands on the conservation of Earth and all its species.
However, because this is a modern-day blockbuster, “Noah” also tries to be a fantasy epic — Bible gone Tolkien — complete with hand-to-hand combat, magical wise men, giant creatures, ancient prophecies and epic battles. The CGI in this movie is amazing, and “Noah” reportedly cost about $125 million to make, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that it was unnecessary.
This was a film about conservation and the lengths man will go to do what he feels he must. Watching giant stone monsters fight the Huns from “Gladiator” feels like artistic compromise to a greedy studio.
Crowe gives a performance pretty standard for him — all surly masculinity and wild beard — that is enough to satisfy but not to astound. The real standout performance comes from Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”) as Naameh, Noah’s wife. Connelly is the movie’s compassionate heart as a desperate, protective mother, and it was her I was rooting for — not Noah.
Ultimately, “Noah” overcomes its flaws and is one of the most original cinematic visions in recent years. Though it takes vast liberties with the origin story of Noah and his ark — the end product feels more like an original work that happened to also be about a flood — admirers of the morality of Noah and his dedication to the preservation of life will come away satisfied.
I give it 4/5 stars.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 4/3/2014 under the headline "Blockbuster ‘Noah’ strays from original story, wows in visuals"]
