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T O P I C R E V I E W
BaftaBaby
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 20:02:37 I didn't even have to look at the credits to feel the uninspiring touch of exec producer David M Thompson's hand all over this dragged-out unfocused attempt to document the story of the greatest theory of the modern era.
Thompson cut his teeth in the docu-drama department of BBC-TV, and he never actually trusts fiction. This particular script tries to make dramatic the crucial moments which are essentially composed of philosophical thought. Script writer and novelist John Collee is steeped in a scientific background and has produced intriguing screenplays in the past ... enjoyable ones, too.
And director Jon Amiel, though no auteur, has proved he can pace scenes and build tension.
That both these key contributors have landed on their butts with this makes me conclude it's Thompson and his arrogant pedantry they were answering to.
It's sure not Paul Bettany's fault - his acting as always is truthful and he exudes a screen charm that's attractive without swamping his character. He humanizes a scientific genius, itself a nice bonus gift.
His real-life partner Jennifer Connolly doesn't do as well, finding only a few moments of some private softness. She seems trapped in an ersatz Victorian sensibility. Even the most trussed-up ladies loosened their corsets now and again.
I think the filmmakers wanted The Origin of Species to be the star. Which is a big mistake. And, undoubtedly the reason the film's been banned in certain parts of America.
Of course, to a confirmed atheist like myself, I honestly cannot comprehend the venom that greets someone --- and by no means the first --- who expressed the results of research and observations, because those results counter the banalities of the creationists.
What a silly world.
Pity the film hardly touched on the enduring power of Darwin's argument, instead of scene after scene of his obsessive grieving over his dead daughter. OK already, we get it!
I know they didn't want to make Inherit the Wind again, but honestly, there are real dramas in Darwin's story. You won't find most of 'em here.
