Thoughtful, moving, and Bettany is brilliant. To be reminded of the power of love to redeem and repair, catch Creation.
Creation (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:16
Rotten:11
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: This Charles Darwin biopic is curiously dispassionate, but Creation contains some of director Jon Amiel's best work, and Paul Bettany's performance is not to be missed.
Rated: PG
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:25-09-2009
Synopsis:
CREATION is the powerful and true-life tale of Charles Darwin and the most explosive idea in history.
A world-renowned scientist, and a dedicated family man struggling to accept his daughter’s...
CREATION is the powerful and true-life tale of Charles Darwin and the most explosive idea in history.
A world-renowned scientist, and a dedicated family man struggling to accept his daughter’s death, Darwin is torn between his love for his deeply religious wife and his own growing belief in a world where God has no place. He finds himself caught in a battle between faith and reason, love and truth. This is the extraordinary story of Charles Darwin and how his master-work “The Origin of Species” came to light. It tells of a global revolution played out in the confines of a small English village; a passionate marriage torn apart by the most provocative idea in history – evolution; and a theory saved from extinction by the logic of a child.
Charles Darwin is played by acclaimed British actor Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, A Beautiful Mind, Inkheart), and his wife Emma Darwin is played by his real-life wife, Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (Blood Diamond, A Beautiful Mind, Requiem For a Dream, The Day the Earth Stood Still). Directed by Jon Amiel (Entrapment, Copycat, Sommersby, The Core,) from a screenplay by John Collee (Master and the Commander: The Far Side of the World, Happy Feet), CREATION is based upon Randal Keynes’ book, ‘Annie’s Box’, about the life of his great great grandfather, Charles Darwin.--© Official Site
Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Jones, Jeremy Northam
Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Jones, Jeremy Northam, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martha West
Director: Jon Amiel
Director: Jon Amiel
Studio: Newmarket Films
Reviews for Creation
Don’t expect anything too radical from this infuriatingly soft yet still pleasantly subdued and poignant screen adaptation of Randal Keynes’s book ‘Annie’s Box’
Flawed as it might be, Creation is still Amiel's best movie to date. Wonderfully mounted, the picture successfully dramatises key moments in Darwin's life.
Bettany himself seems hamstrung by a part that requires lots of concentrated frowns and fey swooning, and the ability to render credible a ridiculous rubber baldy cap.
This gentle, heartfelt and well-acted film about Charles Darwin and his personal agony preceding the 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species does not shy away from the issues. But it personalises them, and places them in a new context.
With so much material to draw on it feels slightly disappointing that there’s no sense of awe or wonder when the credits roll.
It's a boldly small approach to a big subject and, except for Bettany's performance, it feels miscalculated.
Amiel has fashioned a quietly compelling story that brightens as a reinvigorated Darwin finds closure and the printing presses can begin rolling.
This worthy, timely portrait will no doubt figure prominently in next year’s awards season. Would that it had more of the revolutionary daring of Darwin’s writings.
Even atheists may smart at the family picnic where a character intones, "All of nature is a battlefield," while neat cucumber sarnies are passed about.
By focusing on the naturalist's reclusiveness, the film deprives the viewer of the visceral rush of discovery that we're conditioned to associate with Darwin.
Intelligent, touching and, just maybe, a film to grab gongs come awards season.
A well-made piece of period drama that sorely lacks any lightness or passion.
A bit more of Bettany sparkling as Darwin recounts his incredible journeys would have lifted Creation.
A sub-plot features an orang-utan; it is no exaggeration to say that she is the most moving performer on screen.
There is nothing revolutionary about Creation but it tells an absorbing true story and finds a human perspective to some extraordinary historical events.
A sad, searching piece of work about the reluctant labour of a great idea.
The film is beautifully shot and there are dreamy sequences that convey, better than anything I’ve seen or read, the fantastical, creative quality of Darwin’s mind.
The filmmakers offer a fresh angle on a controversial topic. And it's an imaginative, human approach that brings it vividly to life.
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