Creation (www.the-usher.com)

"Suppose the whole world stopped believing that God had any sort of plan for us? "

For decades naturalist Charles Darwin (Bettany) has been working on proving a theory that could shake the very foundations of science and Victorian society. Plagued with grief for the death of his eldest daughter Annie (West) and reluctance to challenge the church that his wife Emma (Connelly) so fervently believed in, Charles had fallen ill under the stress. With pressure from his peers to publish and his own demons driving him further and further away from revealing his theory, his book, ‘The Origin of Species’ might never be written.

Films about the life and times of some of the most influential people history have been the stalwart of cinema since its inception and now we have the story of one of the most important, Charles Darwin.

When English naturalist Charles Darwin published his revolutionary theories on evolution in 1859, the book ‘On the Origins of Species’ changed everything that science and controversially, religion believed and had taught. These theories changed everything but it is the story of writing those theories that film deals with, having been based on the biography by his great nephew, Randal Keynes.

While his theories are well known, the struggle to get them published or even write them has not been covered in cinematic form. Here we see Darwin fighting illness but it is his inner traumas that were tearing him down. His theory was causing controversy within the religious community, with his local Reverend lambasting him for losing his faith, his own wife questioning his beliefs but it is the loss of his daughter Anne, aged just ten years old, that continued to haunt him. This, of course, creates fascinating and emotional drama and is made all the more powerful by the performance of Paul Bettany.

British actor Paul Bettany has always shown great promise and has touched greatness with his performances in ‘Gangster No. 1’, ‘A Knight’s Tale’, ‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’ and ‘The Young Victoria’ but he has mixed this with movies like ‘The De Vinci Code’, ‘Firewall’, ‘Wimbledon’ and ‘Inkheart’, which never really challenged his talents. As Charles Darwin however, this is a role that could define his career and shows that he is a real talent. This story is not all about the great naturalist however, and Jennifer Connelly’s portrayal of his wife, Emma is just as important. Husbands and wives working together does not always create movie magic but for ‘Creation’ the couple show how it should be done, providing real family drama. The supporting cast is also good, with the always excellent Jeremy Northam as Reverend Innes and a breakout performance from Martha West as Annie Darwin but it is story of Jenny, the first orangutan at London Zoo that will touch the heart of even the most hardest person.

‘Creation’ shows again that history’s greatest people can provide the biggest drama. The story of Darwin’s inner struggle to publish one of the most important scientific theories in the history of mankind is one that should not be missed.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Documentary (1hr 09.07 mins)
Split into sections entitled ‘Creation: The Battle for Charles Darwin’, ‘Darwin’s Legacy’, ‘Digging deeper into Darwin’ and ‘Nick Poll on Film’, this documentary is a fact filled compliment to the motion picture. With contributions from and interviews with stars Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly and Darwin’s great nephew and writer of his biography and the novel ‘Annie’s Box’ Randal Keynes, this is a fascinating insight into the life and times of the man and into the actual home were his family and theories came together.

OVERALL

With a documentary that lasts over an hour and complements the movie superbly, this is an excellent package to an excellent film. While it may be a shame that there is no commentary track but the documentary far than makes for this.

DVD

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2009