Book of Eli
Ξ February 4th, 2010 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Interesting |
What a fantastic movie. One of the top three most satisfying movies I can think of, the other two being Lives of Others and Patlabor 2. It was an action movie who’s actions scene were driven by the plot and not the other way around. It never felt the need to be flashy, but it never felt slow.
There is a plot twist, but the plot doesn’t revolve on it like it did in the Sixth Sense. It could have been left it out completely, and I would have still felt it was a great movie. In a lot of movies, plot twists almost seem to be attempts by the writers to fool the audience or make the script appear more clever than it actually is, and frequently the twist is foreshadowed a mile away. That’s not the case in The Book of Eli – the twist is there purely for the enjoyment of the audience. I don’t think I’ve come across something like that before.
Keeping in that line of thought, what happens to Denzel Washington’s character at the end feels right, but, again, something very different could have happened and it still would have been fine with me – it’s not what happens to his character that matters but what his character did.
I’m really glad I saw this movie in while it was in the theater. Blockbuster movies, I feel, don’t really need the immersion that a theater provides. Loud explosions and flashing lights – there’s simply too much happening to keep track of at once. But hearing the sand blow across the road as Washington walks across the wasteland – the stillness draws you in.
Beyond the technical merits of the movie, what really drew me in were the themes of the movie. I’ve always been more interested in what a movie is trying to say than anything else. And what this movie is saying is interesting and refreshing. Warning, some spoilers follow:
Some thirty years before the film, a war took place. Civilization feel. Typical post-apocalyptic setting. The film doesn’t go into much detail, but there aren’t many people who grew up before the war left, and even fewer can read. Blaming religion for the war, an effort was made to wipe it from the memory of the survivors. Virtually no one knows of Christianity or what a Bible is. But Eli knows. And what’s more, he’s a believer. More than once through the movie, he quotes scripture. He’s on a mission from God – he must go west and bring the Word to fertile ground.
Of course, the journey isn’t going to be an easy one (he knew that by now, as he’d been walking for thirty years already) – the Bible he carries is coveted by Gary Oldman’s character, believing that with The Book, he can spread the world and the people will follow him as a new prophet.
I find Washington’s character thoroughly refreshing. I can’t think of another character who was at the same time a true believer and not a cartoonish stereotype. Devote Christians characters are either supposed to be A) disillusioned B) loudmouthed hypocrite C) super-sensitive “don’t you believe in something bigger than you” or D) psychopathic crusader. Eli is a true believer. He reads the Bible every night. He quotes scripture. He takes Christianity very seriously. But he’s also humble. There is a scene where a thug tries to pick a fight with him. It’s made perfectly obvious that he can turn himself into a killing machine when he wants to, but he does everything he can to avoid the fight. Admits fault and apologizes, and even begs to avoid the fight. But in the end, he’s the last Christian on Earth, carrying the last Bible. When all else fails, he will be absolutely ruthless.
Garry Oldman’s character treats religion just as seriously as Eli, having been raised with the Bible as well, but he did not learn it’s lessons. He sees the Bible as a means to his ends, rather than Eli’s vision of it as a message from God to man. He wants “The Book” to rally the people to him. In this, it reminds me a lot of the initial motivation of Muhammad, who saw the Jews with their book, the Christians with theirs, and realized the power those books had given to their respective peoples, and sought the same for his people.
In the end, The Book of Eli imparts upon the audience a refreshing view of the power of religion, showing both a sympathetic and cautionary side to it. But, as someone who feels that Christianity tends to get a bit of a short shrift in popular media, it is very refreshing to see someone take it seriously.
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