Today's Two-Minute Verdict examines Creation, the Charles Darwin biopic which has the dubious honor of being the first non-Canadian film in quite some time to open the Toronto International Film Festival. Let's have a look at its trailer, then, and predict what might evolve.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this trailer is the familiar Virgin Mary logo to appear before it begins: Yes, it's Icon Productions -- the Mel Gibson imprint* studio responsible for the blockbuster Messianic flagellation porn known as The Passion of the Christ, who one would assume to be the last studio behind the biopic of the man who disproved the Creation Myth. (As it turns out, BBC Films produced Creation, but Icon is the film's U.K. and Australian distributor.)
Luckily, the Icon association didn't result in our worst nightmares coming to pass, with a depiction of Darwin as a Ron Burgundy-esque, egomaniacal nincompoop. Instead, we have Paul Bettany in the central role, whose presence goes a long way towards edging public perception away from the famed theorist as being some kind of monkey-communing Santa Claus and repositioning him as the hunky-naturalist of his younger years.
This Darwin has a talent for connecting with lesser life forms, whether reaching a hand out to a tribe of thong-wearing savages in an opening coastal shot, or a single finger, all Michelangelo-like, to his Great Monkey Uncle. Bathed in the dewy light and barely audible inflections (did no one in 19th Century England speak above a breathless murmur?) of every British period movie ever made, the film depicts the scientist as the Darwin one might expect -- conflicted by his momentous epiphany and the toll it takes on his family life, particularly with his pious wife (Jennifer Connolly, gazing distressedly from behind glass when not delivering urgently whispered implorations. Evolution buzzkill!).
VERDICT: Too upright.
- As per commenter maxfm, Gibson sold Icon's overseas distribution arm in late 2008. Nevertheless, it's still weird/ironic to see the Icon logo flash before the Chuck Darwin story.
