Sunday 6 April 2014

Noah - one of the greatest adaptions of a iconic tale??



Noah well what can you say about a story that is iconic and famous around the world and precious to many people. Well before seeing this film I would have said just don't bother adapting it because we have seen so many bad adaptions why just add this to the pile. But I was quickly made to eat my words watching this film I quickly found myself falling in love with a story I myself never had any interest in. With a cast of brilliant actors led by an emotional, hard and determined performance by Russell Crowe as a man just trying to do right by his family and the creator. 

Now I will say I will be talking about spoilers for the film but to be honest if you know the story of Noah you know what to expect. But what I was surprised about is how far away from the story everyone knows they tried to take themselves. They made it dark, gritty and evil in many ways which I feel makes it different to other adaptions and makes it better in many ways. They don't make Noah this old man with the long white hair and beard this gentle and kind man. They make him a killer someone who himself says that man will do what ever it takes to survive and protect the ones they love. Which in turn makes him in his own mind just as evil as the rest of the world. This is quickly realised by the end of the movie which I will get into soon when u see less a hero and more a broken man. Which I see this as less a religious story and more a story of a man wanting to good for the world and realise who he's meant to be. 

You can quickly see from the start that they try and keep it as far away and minimal to the bible story as possible. Which works in the films favour and made me think a lot about myself and the world we live in. Which if the point if this film was to have you think then it done a good job because I've never came away from a film feeling sick, love and hate all manner of emotions at once before. They made me love, hate and then love Noah again because he's not meant to be a hero merely a man trying to right but stumbles trying to do the creators wishes. I think the real heroes of the film are the supporting cast who give amazing performances and hold their own against people like Russell Crowe and Ray Winstone. (Who is utterly terrifying I have to say) 

But some of the stand out performances in the film are from Emma Watson and Antony Hopkins. Emma shows why she's got a long and brilliant career set ahead for her in acting its a different role and more grown up Emma compared to the girl we saw in Harry Potter. She's also brilliant at crying on cue and making u feel for her a girl who can't conceive a child for the man she loves. She's honest and pure and managed to push through and past some of the heavy hitters and show she has just as much right to be in the film as the others. The other stand out performance short as it is is Antony Hopkins playing Noah's grandfather. Who has these bitter sweet moments with members of the family giving them guidance in their times of need. And their sweet moments that help progress and shine some happiness on another wise dark and bleak story. 

Dark and bleak being the right words for Ray Winstone who gives a scary performance as Cain the villain if you like of the film. It's the perfect fit for someone like Winstone who has come to be known for darker, manly characters. He plays so well off of Crowe and the two of them on screen in the final half of the film is brilliant to watch and unfold. 

What I will say is that they have taken the real story of Noah of a man  that watched the whole world die around him. So to see the way that he is in the film is no surprise in anyway a confused man that is doing gods wishes. But during that becomes just another one of the monsters because he doesn't know how he is any different to the rest if them. It's a touching and emotional story that leaves you with a mixed feeling by the end. But the one thing you can't help but say is wow that was a brilliant movie and I really don't know the real story. 

Overall I would say that Noah is one of the best movies that I have seen all year. It's dark, gritty, emotional and beautiful to watch on screen. With a touching story, beautiful almost art house type shots as they talk about Adam and Eve it makes for a beautiful movie. Then take that and add in the amazing cast and you have a perfect movie right here. All I can say is that don't believe the controversy because i know that not everyone is going to be happy about the take on the story. But give it a chance and it will change your mind and show you a brilliant story and a thrill ride of a movie.

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