2009 marked the anniversaries of two of the greatest milestones in human understanding. 400 years ago last year, Galileo Galilei turned his improved telescopes to the sky and found new evidence that the earth was not the center of the universe. 150 years ago last year, Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species”, which forever revolutionized the study of biology. Both men were confronted–in Galileo’s case, even imprisoned–in their own lifetimes by religious leaders. Throughout last year, both were celebrated in a number of documentaries and retrospectives. In Darwin’s case, two dramatic films were made about the years immediately preceding the publication of “On the Origin of Species”–National Geographic’s stiff but informative Darwin’s Darkest Hour, starring Lost’s Henry Ian Cusick, and the more lavish Creation, starring Paul Bettany (who here almost reprises his Darwin-esque performance as Dr. Maturin in Master and Commander). Creation, however, took a long time to find a distributor here in the States and ultimately received a very modest theatrical release. Like Alejandro Amenabar’s recent (and more provocative) Agora, its American success has no doubt been muted by fear of the religious backlash which is too often characteristic of our culture.

As much as Darwin is demonized by the religious right, it is important to note that he was extremely conflicted about publishing his controversial work, and very troubled, in fact, by the cruelty of the universe he was trying to make sense of. Creation’s focus is on this internal conflict, and its first half is surprisingly melancholy and psychological. Bettany’s Darwin is haunted by hallucinations of his recently deceased daughter and can’t stop dwelling on the violence and chaos he perceives in nature. The film, eager to slip inside his tormented mind, brings the audience along as he imagines, for instance, a baby bird dying and being consumed by the insects and maggots that its mother was feeding it with just minutes earlier. These sequences are the sort of thing one might expect from David Cronenberg or Werner Herzog, and are not often seen in a stately period biopic. Not only are they bold for this reason, but also because such scenes express what some find so frightening about so-called Darwinism. Kudos to the filmmakers for acknowledging this in so potent a fashion.

Later on, as Darwin engages more deeply with his wife and confronts his grief over his daughter’s death, a more contemplative and redemptive tone prevails. I found the film’s depiction of a non-believer’s grief particularly resonant. Creation is certainly not the first film I’ve seen that makes the argument that faith can be distinguished from religious belief, but it makes it particularly well. Darwin’s religious wife Emma is played by Bettany’s real-life wife Jennifer Connelly, and their relationship has an honesty and comfort to it that benefits tremendously from the leads’ natural chemistry. The external pressures on Darwin to publish or repent are offered by excellent supporting players Toby Jones and Jeremy Northam, as Thomas Huxley and Reverend John Innes, respectively. Their prickliness and pushiness reflect the tragic animosities that sometimes occur between friends separated by dogma. Ultimately, though, the film lives and dies on Bettany’s performance, and he carries it all the way. – [DVD]

Biography/Drama

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 6/29/10

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