Watching the Movie, Noah
In recent Sunday mornings, I led us through the chapters of Genesis that contain the story of Noah and the ark, visually augmenting those messages with select clips from the 2014 big budget movie starring Russell Crowe. When it was released, it was met with numerous panned reviews from many Christian groups. I didn’t even see it until it came to dollar theaters. Well, the bottom line is I love the movie! Since many have mentioned now wanting to watch it too, I offer three vindications for the film. Further, I own a Blu-ray/DVD combo set for anyone who might want to borrow it. Just call the office to be added to the list of borrowers. And finally, SPOILER ALERT, the three vindications below do indeed include important plot details.
1. Hollywood License part A: Any blockbuster is going to take license because it makes movies more intriguing. Oftentimes it’s filling in details not found in the original source material. In Noah, the director, Darren Aronofsky, added two plot twists for tension. [He is also the director of Pi, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan.] He believes Noah might have originally misunderstood God’s intention was only to preserve the animals, and that Noah and his family were merely the human servants to get the animals to safety, and once through the flood Noah and family would die out. Therefore, Aronofsky caused Noah’s daughter-in-law to become pregnant… which caused Noah to commit to killing the baby at birth if a girl (for she could in theory reproduce in the future, thus overturning what God’s will is perceived to be.) This extra plot thread doesn’t jeopardize the biblical account, and by the end of the movie all is reconciled well.
2. Hollywood License part B: Adding even more tension, Aronofsky wrote Tubal-Cain into his movie as the greedy, power-hungry antagonist. Now, Tubal-Cain was an actual man mentioned in Genesis 4:22, a descendant of Cain, a forger of implements, and the son of an extremely tough and unforgiving man. In the movie he leads a people of takers who mercilessly suck the life out of wherever they arrive, and he winds up secretly stowing away on the ark. Though the Bible says nothing of this organized plot to overtake the ark, it’s not in direct conflict with the biblical account. Another extra plot thread.
3. Theological Interpretation: What’s with the movie including those weird rock monsters? The Noah account opens in Genesis 6 with the Nephilim (“sons of God”) taking daughters of men as wives, and their offspring became the heroes (“mighty men”) of old. Well, we’re not at all sure what the Nephilim were, but most likely they were divinely empowered beings who helped populate earth. Really. And their offspring apparently had some larger-than-life qualities. Some have suggested Goliath was the last example of the last line of these. The movie shows the Nephilim as fallen angel-like beings who become encrusted in earth and trapped here. But, hey, they help Noah build the ark—and that’s not an implausible theory. Also, they too become reconciled with the Creator through plot twists and turns. Not a bad possible interpretation.
From My Heart,
Rev. Jeff Garrett