I saw the film on opening night and before I dive into my main discussion, let me first give a very brief review of the film. I loved the film. It was epic, the acting was incredible (Emma Watson gave her best performance yet), the visuals were breathtaking, the music was beautiful, and the film's main message was intense (more on that later). And that is definitely the shortest review I have ever written.
Anyway, now that you know how I felt about the actual film, I want to jump into some different points of debate that make up the film's controversy and let you know where I stand. If you haven't seen it yet, my hope is that this will allow you to gain a little more information on the film to help you decide if you think you should see it or not, if you have seen the film, hopefully this will give a little more insight into how we as Christians should approach a movie like this.
Point of Debate #1: Does the film takes too many deviations from the Biblical account of Noah?
This is the big one. People have gotten upset over the abundance of "artistic license" this film employs. And that would be a sensible complaint...if the filmmakers had stated that this was a literal adaptation of the story of Noah...but they didn't say that. Paramount pictures has been very clear in their marketing that this film is NOT a literal adaptation, or even a loose adaptation. Instead, they say that this film was INSPIRED by the story of Noah. This means that yes, the movie has a main character named Noah, a giant arc, and a flood, but outside of those three things, it is a complete work of fiction. And when you go into the film knowing that it is not supposed to be the exact story of Noah from the book of Genesis, it is much easier to enjoy it for what it is, a fully fictional piece of art.
Now let's just say that, for the sake of debate, the whole "inspired by Noah" isn't good enough. Ok, to that I would say that the story of Noah is one of the least descriptive stories in the entire Bible. It is very brief (only a few chapters) because of that, it does leave a lot up to the imagination (i.e. Aronofsky's artistic direction) about what happens in between the little details we do get. Examples of what we don't know from the Bible: how Noah built the ark specifically, if anyone tried to get on the ark when the flood began, how they treated the animals during the storm, etc. These are all details that the director had to address for the sake of the film, and they are areas in which he exercises most of his original ideas.
To solve the problem of how Noah built a giant ark, we are presented with The Watchers, these giant rock creatures/fallen angels that were obviously INSPIRED by a few brief verses in the Old Testament (Genesis 6:4 says "There were giants in the Earth in those days"). The Watchers are definitely the weirdest part of the film (even though I found them kind of likable as well) but they do serve as an easy answer as to how Noah built the ark and how a giant army of men were kept from running onto the ship when the flood started. Which leads me to the next thing.
Another big departure is King Tubal-cain (played excellently by Ray Winstone) and his army of evil men. Of course, the inclusion is not nearly as outlandish as the Watchers. After all, the film has to have a primary antagonist, and it isn't too crazy to think that some people would have tried to rush onto the ark when they realized that they were about to die. The only thing that dances on the edge of believability is how Tubal-cain manages to sneak onto the ark at the last second and hides in the lower levels for such a long amount of time, but again, every film needs a primary antagonist.
The biggest and probably most difficult departure that Christians will have a hard time getting past is the whole "killer Noah" thing that provides the conflict for the final third of the film. In the film, Noah decides that all men should die after the flood, not just the line of Cain, and so when he finds out that his daughter-in-law is pregnant, he tells her that if the child is a girl, he will kill her the moment she leaves the womb...dang! For me, it was here when the film started to lose me a little bit, but by this moment (with more than 2/3 of the film past) I had already accepted that this film was so far removed from the Biblical story of Noah, that I was willing to buy into this fictional character that Aronofsky created.
Bottom Line: Go into Noah knowing that it was never intended to be anything like the Bible story we all know. This is 10% Noah and 90% Aronofsky's creation, it could almost be called an original screenplay. I would have had a problem with the film if they claimed that it was how it really happened, but that isn't the case. Furthermore, I would have had a problem if this was a film about Jesus and so many deviation from the Bible were taken, but like I said, the story of Noah has very little detail, and so it is no surprise that there is a lot in this film that we don't recognize.
Point of Debate #2: Is this film "anti-biblical"?
I came across a headline for an online article yesterday that read "NOAH IS UNBIBLICAL, EVIL, AND REPRESENTS PAGANISM!" I almost burst out laughing at the utterly ridiculous claim. Is the film anti-biblical? Absolutely not! That would mean that the film's messages and themes would be against the Bible and against what the Bible teaches and that is simply not true at all for this film. In fact I would say that, unsurprisingly, there are some good Biblical themes present throughout Noah.
So where is God to be found in this film? I would narrow it down to three main themes that are present throughout, in order from least to most prominent.
First is the idea of forgiveness, which I wished had been a little more prominent in this dark tale. But there is one scene that provides a visual image of forgiveness that for some reason I just really enjoyed...and yes, it involves the giant rock creatures. In the film, the Watchers, the fallen angels, do not believe that they will enter the Kingdom of God again because they have disobeyed Him. Then later in the film, when the Watchers are defending the ark from the army of Tubal-cain, one of them is killed and as he is dying he looks up into the sky and asks God's forgiveness. Then, to his surprise, his spirit breaks free from the solid rock it was trapped in and is carried up to Heaven. It is after looking at this when another Watcher exclaims to the others, "He has forgiven us! The Creator is bringing us home!" And then the remaining Watchers fight, no longer fearing death, because they know they are forgiven. And to me this was such a beautiful image, illustrating God's forgiveness and love for us. We too are dirty with the sins of this Earth, but because of Christ's sacrifice, we are redeemed, and when our time on this Earth is done, we will be free of our sin and be carried up to our Heavenly Father, because we are forgiven.
Second, is the message of God's immense love for us. We all know the story of how God created the Earth, how mankind fell into sin, and why God decided to flood the Earth to begin with. In fact, there is a visually beautiful scene depicting how God's creation came to be when Noah tells his family the story of "In the beginning..." And we also know that God did not leave us to be miserable forever and dead in our sins. Instead, He showed us love and mercy by entering into a Covenant of Grace with Adam (and with everyone after Adam) promising redemption through a savior, His son. And while the Covenant of Grace and Jesus are not specifically mentioned in the film, God's love is prominent, especially in the end, when Noah realizes that the gift of love, given to him and his family by God, is the only reason that they were spared from the destruction of the Earth. Truly it is only because of God's love that we are saved, because through that love he sent Christ (John 3:16) to save us from our spiritual destruction.
But the overarching theme that Aronofsky has chosen is a dark one, one that is risky to present to both a Christian and non-Christian audience. The theme I am speaking of is the wickedness of man. In the film, Noah believes that he and his family are much better than the "sinful and wicked sons of Cain" and he looks down on them for much of the film. That is, until he has a vision (presumably from God) that makes him realize that he is just as wicked as all of these other men around him. He sees in himself the same capacity for sin that everyone else has, and this realization drives him to the edge of sanity. This struggle that Noah faces is the same struggle that we face on a daily basis. We are always so quick to point out the sin of others that we never admit to ourselves that we are capable of that same exact sin (Matthew 7:3). Furthermore, we so often forget that we do not deserve God's love and Christ's sacrifice. We so often forget that we deserve misery and death and Hell (Noah refers to the flood as God's justice). Romans 3:10-11 says this:
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God
If we can take one thing away from watching this film, just look at the grand destruction of the Earth by the flood. This film showcases the destruction that we deserve, but because of God's love, and because of Jesus we are spared (just as Noah was spared). And it is really cool to me that a director (whom I presume to be an unbeliever) has captured this idea so well through film.
Point of Debate #3: Is This Film Harming the Way Non-Believers Look at Christianity?
I have said many times that movies are modern day parables. They are stories that have the potential to contain powerful messages and redeeming truth. I have also said, in regards to film, that God works in mysterious ways, and that film can be His tool to plant the seeds of the faith in the minds of people who watch them. And movies don't have to be "Christian films" to do this! If films such as The Matrix, Harry Potter, and even Bruce Almighty can spark discussion about God and Christianity, then surely Noah can! Now I'm not saying that every non-Christian is going to watch this film and immediately start asking questions about God. My point is that this film can act as a bridge between believers and nonbelievers, who are both wandering into the movie theater to enjoying some quality entertainment. Then, if people start asking questions about the Biblical story of Noah, THEN we can use our knowledge of Scripture to steer them in a more accurate direction. Hollywood has produced a blockbuster film that could very possibly make an impact on a nonbeliever's worldview (how often does that happen??), so why in the world are so many people set on hating it and dismissing it as "anti-biblical?"
Conclusion
It happens with every Biblical adaptation that comes to the silver screen--there is always controversy. And I understand the people that are upset when they ask, "Is it so much to ask for an accurate adaptation from the Bible, when Harry Potter and Hunger Games fans get faithful adaptations of their fictional books?" The bottom line is, just because everything in the film, Noah, is not directly from the Bible does not mean that it is bad. Of course, if you just didn't like the movie that's of course a different story. Darren Aronofsky has crafted an epic fantasy, inspired by one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament. I would encourage viewers to see the film knowing before-hand what it is, borderline-original fiction. Then afterwords, find others who have seen it and discuss where you saw God in the film, where you wish you saw God more, and what is to be learned from seeing a movie like this. After all, one of the best things about movies is the rich discussion they can provide.
