[7]
Paul Bettany (Master and Commander) stars as English naturalist and evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin in this dramatic biopic from director Jon Amiel (Copycat, Sommersby). Creation focuses on the time during which Darwin struggled to complete his controversial book, The Origin of Species — a work that rattle the world with scientific evidence that defied long-held religious beliefs. Bettany is solid in the lead role, suffering visions of his deceased daughter (Martha West) and wrestling with depression over how his discoveries affect his pious wife (Jennifer Connelly), his minister (Jeremy Northam), and Victorian society at large.
Connelly does well as Bettany’s primary antagonist, though I wish we could have seen this couple in happier times, before the war between science and religion tears at their marriage. The most compelling thing about Creation is that it paints Darwin as a reluctant figure, urged by ardent anti-religious colleagues (Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch) to drag the world screaming into a new enlightenment. But Darwin is without animosity toward God and religion, and he’s painfully aware of what his discoveries might mean. He appreciates how religion maintains order and propriety, and how it gives aim and meaning to people’s lives. He ultimately decides to leave God out of his book, and (in the film at least) lets his wife make the final decision about whether or not the book even gets published.
The film is oppressively dreary, both in the details of Darwin’s home life and in the unsettling implications his work will have on the world. It essentially depicts a crystalized moment in history when humanity lost its innocence — a hard film to enjoy, so much as appreciate.