Darren Aronofsky’s epic depiction of the Biblical story of Noah is set to hit theaters next March with Russell Crowe taking on the lead role. Unfortunately, early screenings of the movie have resulted in a major blowback over the film’s apparent environmentalist angle.
Brian Godawa had this to say about the film’s script:
If you were expecting a Biblically faithful retelling of the story of the greatest mariner in history and a tale of redemption and obedience to God you’ll be sorely disappointed. Noah paints the primeval world of Genesis 6 as scorched arid desert, dry cracked earth, and a gray gloomy sky that gives no rain – and all this, caused by man’s “disrespect” for the environment. In short, an anachronistic doomsday scenario of ancient global warming. How Neolithic man was able to cause such anthropogenic catastrophic climate change without the “evil” carbon emissions of modern industrial revolution is not explained. Nevertheless, humanity wanders the land in nomadic warrior tribes killing animals for food or wasteful trophies.
And his conclusion:
…an uninteresting and unbiblical waste of a hundred and fifty million dollars that will ruin for decades the possibility of making a really great and entertaining movie of this Bible hero.
Director Darren Aronofsky and Paramount Pictures are said to currently be at odds over what version of Noah will actually hit theaters.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that crowd feedback from early screenings has been blistering, leading to internal squabbles over the final cut. The movie has blown past its original $125 million budget, so pressure is high for Aronofsky to deliver a blockbuster as he did with 2010’s Black Swan, which grossed $329 million worldwide.
In addition to Crowe, the cast includes Emma Watson (Ila), Jennifer Connelly (Naameh) and Anthony Hopkins (Methuselah).
With that kind of A-list cast and massive production budget, it’s hard not to get excited about the possibilities — and I’m still holding out hope that they’ll right the ship. But if the movie’s backers think their target audience is going to react positively to a global warming propaganda film of Biblical proportions, they’ll be sorely mistaken.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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