"Dreary, Lifeless"
"I had to laugh after I saw Creation at the Toronto Film Festival last fall," writes Marshall Fine, "because I'd read speculation in the press that the reason it was having trouble finding an American distributor was its controversial content.
Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin in Creation.
"As if this weak-tea, droopy-drawers drama had a scintilla of anything that might be mistaken for controversy squirreled somewhere within its overlong running time. Perhaps I dozed through that part.
"What most people were too polite to say was that Creation (1.22.10) is a colossal snooze, a drama allegedly about a hot-button topic -- Darwin's theory of evolution -- that buries its most interesting material beneath a mountain of sudsy and dreary psychodrama that's not all that dramatic."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 18, 2010 at 11:21 AM
comment #1
SnarfTheFierce
says ...
Damn. I dig Bettany. Guess the release date should've been clue enough, but this is still kind of a shame.
Posted by SnarfTheFierce
at January 18, 2010 11:45 AM
comment #2
lawnorder
says ...
Critics are a fucking useless waste of life. I really enjoyed CREATION. Not the greatest film of all time, but I enjoyed the themes and Darwin's internal struggle. It was also really strong on all tech levels including Christopher Young's excellent score. So fuck you Marshall Fine! Everyone seems to be piling onto this very decent film. Bettany and Connelly are really good in this one - especially Connelly. What can I say? I dug it and I'm not the biggest fan of period dramas. So there.
Posted by lawnorder
at January 18, 2010 11:52 AM
comment #3
BizzarroJeffWells
says ...
Again, re: my comments the other day about PB. Such a good actor being wasted, if indeed this film is crap, like so much that he has done since his amazing turn in M&C.
Posted by BizzarroJeffWells
at January 18, 2010 11:53 AM
comment #4
drbob
says ...
Paul Bettany's finest hour (and perhaps Russell Crowe's too) remains Master and Commander. That was a good bit of film-making - it could use a sequel.
Posted by drbob
at January 18, 2010 11:59 AM
comment #5
Pinko Punko
says ...
Master and Commander could use 10 sequels. It was great, and with a prior commitment to a second film could have been better because Bettany's character could have been developed.
Posted by Pinko Punko
at January 18, 2010 12:48 PM
comment #6
btwnproductions
says ...
Jon Amiel's previous historical drama, AMAZING GRACE, was excellent. I'd give this one a shot.
Posted by btwnproductions
at January 18, 2010 1:01 PM
comment #7
raygo
says ...
This is emblematic of the dilemma facing period and/or historical films like this an the earlier Amelia ... they are dismissed as "snore fests" ... why? Because society in general is on the path to ruin. There is a diminishing appreciation of history and story telling. Maybe if it were in 3-D.
Posted by raygo
at January 18, 2010 1:04 PM
comment #8
raygo
says ...
What ever happened to deafbrowntrashpunk? Haven't heard from her in a long time.
Posted by raygo
at January 18, 2010 1:06 PM
comment #9
maxfm
says ...
Apted directed Amazing Grace.
And Terrence Malick and Patricia Heaton have producer credits on that one.
An odd combo -- those two, huh?
Posted by maxfm
at January 18, 2010 1:09 PM
comment #10
SnarfTheFierce
says ...
Raygo--seconded. Where is that lovable loon?
Posted by SnarfTheFierce
at January 18, 2010 1:22 PM
comment #11
LexG
says ...
Hey, if you love Paul Bettany, guess this Friday is your lucky day! God, that still and those BURNS he's sporting in this are enough to assure I'll never see it, though somewhere out there hopefully Steven Berkoff is fuming that they didn't ask him to star.
As for DeafBrownTrashPunk: She has a blog, but it's so militant you're all but guaranteed to get yourself on a government watch list just by clicking it. Shame, because she offered to become email buddies, but then I fleetingly checked out her blog and feared that Jack Bauer would kick in my door with electrodes if I ever corresponded with DBTP. Shame, because she's really, really pretty.
Posted by LexG
at January 18, 2010 1:25 PM
comment #12
btwnproductions
says ...
Apted, Amiel--same difference. :) (Amiel did direct THE SINGING DETECTIVE on TV.)
Posted by btwnproductions
at January 18, 2010 2:05 PM
comment #13
Gordon27
says ...
"There is a diminishing appreciation of history and story telling."
I've noticed that more and more historical dramas and period pieces follow all the same story beats as all the others within their subgenre; this has clearly happened with westerns, but also British costume dramas, biopics... I would argue that the writing quality of those films has diminished at least as much as interest in the stories.
Posted by Gordon27
at January 18, 2010 4:56 PM
comment #14
Admiral82
says ...
I was never too excited to see this film. This image of him with the mirror, I've seen a couple of times. It's not a strong selling point. The look on his face is cheesy. I'd probably see it based on Paul Bettany alone. Interesting story, characters, etc.
The same cannot be said for "Legion..."
Onto the side topic of DBPT: IT IS a shame, becasue she's a total cunt. An immature, misguided, egotist. Who has gotten so caught up in her "image" she's lost all semblance of a real person.
To be honest, I would love to have a conversation with her. I'd end up pissed off though, I know I would.
Posted by Admiral82
at January 19, 2010 8:39 AM
comment #15
candyyang80
says ...
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at January 21, 2010 7:35 PM