NOAH

US, 2014, 138 minutes, Colour.
Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connolly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Noah has been produced as a big budget entertainment movie for world release. It is not a documentary, and it is not a visual aid to study of the book of Genesis. It is the brain-child of writer-director, Darren Aronofsky. Commentators note that his dramas are preoccupied with a range of obsessives, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, The Black Swan. Noah joins their obsessive company.

The film is divided into two parts: the establishment of the character of Noah and his family, his sense of mission, the building of the Ark. This part plays very much like an epic movie, or one of those Marvel Comics movies. The second part has the family on the Ark, focuses on the character of Noah, especially his interior life, his doubts, his questioning of his mission. The way the film is written and performed may remind audiences of Greek tragedy, or of Noah being something like a King Lear. The popular audience will appreciate the first part of the film but might find the second part hard going. A more thoughtful audience will probably appreciate the second part, possibly wanting to forget the first part.


Religious audiences will immediately realise that God is not mentioned at all in the film. Rather, the makers have opted to use the term, The Creator. In fact, this alternative to God, works particularly well, reminiscent of the creation accounts and emphasising The Creator’s intentions in making the world and all living things, including humankind. This leads to what could be called a subtext about creation, the environment, and ecological message. But, throughout the film, it is alluded to so often, and then made explicit, that it becomes something of an instruction about care for the world.

On the other hand, The Creator, according to Noah’s experiences, is The Destroyer.

There is an interesting section of the film when Noah and family begin their Ark journey. Noah recites the key Genesis 1 text of the days of creation and there are visuals to illustrate each of them, a sequence that is very effective.

Noah has an enemy, Tubal-Cain?, who has killed his father and defies Noah, offering another variation on the Genesis theme, when Tubal-Cain? stows away on the Ark. He is given a speech, using the old translations of Genesis 1, about the role of humans to subdue creation. He upholds old values of domination rather than respect for creation and the environment.


A particular difficulty is the variation on the Genesis text about the three sons of Noah taking their wives on board. This time only Shem has a wife, the rescued orphan girl. Noah has become so obsessed by this time that he threatens to kill the child if she is a girl and predicts that, if it is a boy, he will be the last of the humans to die. Ham has gone amongst the people to seek a wife to take on to the Ark, but is thwarted by his father, later resenting him (and giving support to the stowaway, Tubal-Cain). This means that the film raises the question of how the human race is to continue, the same question that is implicit in the story of Cain, Seth and their descendants and how children came to be.

This gives people the opportunity to discuss the Noah and Deluge story, what it meant in the times that the saga was created and handed on by word of mouth and finally written down, to discuss the religious and theological meaning of the Flood story as part of the basic relationship between God and humans.

As regards the film itself, the locations have the look of the prehistoric, pre-apocalyptic (or post-apocalyptic for those fond of the many movies about dystopian societies are wars of destruction) and were filmed in the various terrains of Iceland. They are both interesting and exotic. The film also relies on computergraphics, especially for the animals assembling and going into the Ark, the flights of birds first, then the procession of animals, all computer-generated. Noah’s wife is able to induce hibernation by swirling a kind of incense.

While the film makers actually built an Ark, using the specifications in the book of Genesis, the flood and the sea of waters are also computer-generated. As, of course, are the Watchers, their building of the Ark, their defence against the enemies, the battle sequences and their ascension to the skies, experiencing their own distinctive Rapture.

The sequence in the book of Genesis, chapter 9, where Noah drinks of the wines that have been cultivated and lies naked, drunk, and his sons respectfully move backwards to cover him, is included in this film, but immediately after the waters subside. Noah is still in confusion about his mission his behaviour and becomes drunk, with his sons covering him as described in the Bible.

The production design and the costume designers have opted for quite anachronistic choices, manufactured material, metal buckets and pipes, armour and weapons. And the choice for clothing looks a variation on the modern, a denim and leather look and something of an ancient T-shirt culture.

Russell Crowe gives a very dignified performance as Noah and Jennifer Connelly has dignity, loyalty and patience as his wife. On the other hand, Anthony Hopkins gives only a slight variation on his Welsh-accented genial performance as Methuselah. Ray Winstone, a little more subdued than usual, is a vicious Tubal- Cain. Emma Watson, post-Harry Potter, is the orphan girl. Most of the principal cast are not Americans and it is interesting to note that Jennifer Connelly and Logan Lerman as Ham use a more English accent.

Some audiences may think the film a winds down in the second half concentrating as it does on Noah, his interior life, his questioning of the commission, his relentless understanding of The Creator’s intentions for destroying the world and wanting to remain faithful. This makes him something of a tragic figure, his growing older, less certain, mentally disturbed, crazed even to wanting to destroy his son’s child. He is like a tragedy figure, with a tragic flaw which will destroy him and those around him. As mentioned, it is something like a variation on King Lear.

The film-makers have counted on this being a commercial success. Religious audiences may well be interested, interpreting the story according to their beliefs. Audiences who have little interest in religion may not want to see the film, although they will support its environmental message and may judge Noah as being deluded by voices, a fundamentalist believer that this is God’s revelation. And with its striking differences between each part, word-of-mouth may well be cautious.

Noah is an entertainment, one might say of biblical proportions. But it is not a film that would be compulsory for students of the Bible.

1. Audience expectations of the film? Religious interpretation? Non-religious interpretation? Christian response? Jewish response? Muslim response – and Islamic countries banning the film? The impact from non-believers?

2. The range of Biblical interpretation, literal and fundamentalist, the reading of Genesis and creation and sin, the Fall, the generations, human sinfulness, the need for purging? The Deluge, Noah, the Ark, a new beginning?

3. 21st-century interpretations of the Bible, the creation story and creationism, the Bible story and an evolutionary interpretation, the focus on the environment? Care for the earth? The old translation of ‘subdue the earth’, the role of humans and the destruction of the Earth?

4. The work of the director, his range of films, obsessive characters? Noah joining them?

5. The location photography, in Iceland, pre-apocalyptic, looking like post-apocalyptic? The musical score?

6. The special effects, the forest appearing? The Watchers and their role? Building the Ark, the battles, their Rapture? The flood and the sea?

7. The Ark and the dimensions for building the set, from the Bible?

8. The anachronistic clothing, tools, implements? Did this matter?

9. The introduction to the three icons and their recurring throughout the film: the slithering snake, the apple on the tree, the silhouette of Cain bludgeoning Abel?

10. The interpretation of Genesis, symbols, creation, sin, the Fall, murder and brutality? Noah and his reciting Genesis 1 and the seven days of creation to the family, the visuals – to be interpreted in a creationism way, in an evolutionary way?

11. Russell Crowe as Noah, his gravitas, age and ageing? The patriarch, with his family, strong character? As a child seeing his father murdered? His love for his wife, his sons? Wanting their survival?

12. The film using the title The Creator? An expression of faith? Or not? Noah and his experience of The Creator, speaking with him, inspired by him, dreams, voices, sense of vocation, his inner life?

13. The desire to travel, following The Creator’s inspiration? The difficulties of the terrain, the dead bodies in the pits, the finding of the little girl, alive, wounded, the decision to save her, carrying her on the journey?

14. Arriving at the mountain of Methuselah, his age, living in the cave, his desire for berries? How did he survive with food and water in the cave? The children bearing a gift? His potion and giving it to Noah, his drinking it, the effect in his consciousness, vision? Noah’s wife and her visit to Methuselah, pleading with him to save the family? The visit of Ila, explaining that she was barren, Methuselah touching her and healing her? The final scene of Methuselah in the forest with the berries, his death?

15. Noah and the family settling, the sense of doom, the evil humans, the destruction? The response of The Creator?

16. The conception of the Ark and the flood? The building of the Ark?

17. The Watchers, visualised like trolls or transformers? 21st-century audiences familiar with action epics accepting this? The Giants of the book of Genesis? Fallen angels? The rebellion, encased in rock, ability to communicate, talking with Noah, the importance of their actually building the Ark, defending the family and the Ark from the attack of Tubal- Cain and his followers? Their being wounded – the rock falling away, their light ascending to heaven, a Rapture?

18. Noah getting older during the building of the Ark, the children becoming adults? Shem, his work, his love for Ila, her not being able to bear children? The prospect of going on to the Ark and the destruction of all women? Her being healed, the love-making with Shem? Her pregnancy?

19. Ham, rebel, wanting a wife, going to the city, searching, finding the girl in the mass grave, rescuing her, love for her, the communication, the attempted return, her being crushed by the enemy? His resentment towards his father?

20. Tubal- Cain, the leader of the humans, a warrior, his character, the confrontations, interactions with Noah as he visited him in the city? Religious or not? Perceptions of The Creator? Leading the attack on the Ark? Battling the Watchers? His getting into the Ark?

21. The birds and animals, instinct drawing them to the Ark, two by two, settling in the Ark, Noah’s wife and the incense leading them to loss of consciousness, hibernation? Surviving the deluge?

22. The second part of the film, like a Greek tragedy, King Lear? Noah and his becoming much older, crazed, hearing the voices, his sense of The Creator’s will, The destroyer? The voyage? His explanation of the end of the human race, the last human to die? His decision about Ila’s child? His wife and
her challenging him, the plain talk, her love and devotion, but that he was going too far?

23. Ila, her fear, the pregnancy, not being able to deliver, the birth sequence, the fact of twins, twin daughters? Afraid of Noah, daring him to kill the children quickly? His seeing them, the weapon, his heart being touched and his not killing them? Shem and his relief?

24. Ham, his resentment, Tubal- Cain and his stowing away, poisoning Ham’s mind, killing the animals for food, Ham’s shock? Being persuaded, luring his father to confront Tubal- Cain? Their interactions about the role of humans, to subdue the earth rather than care for it? The fight to the death?

25. Ham, the change? Some reconciliation with his father? The sending out of the birds, their return, finally discovering land?

26. Noah, his delusions, disillusionment, onshore, drinking, in the cave, his reasons, a sense of despair? His son seeing him the covering him and moving backwards? Ham not doing this?

27. The biblical text and the differences in the screenplay and their effect? The role of Tubal-Cane?, not taking wives onto the Ark as the text says, the problem in the past about procreation and the continuing of the human race, how would the earth be populated after this experience of the flood?

28. Religious film, a secular film? Both?