THE BOOK OF ELI
December 19th 2010 00:39
Category: Videos
Director: The Hughes Brothers
Written by: Gary Whitta
Producers: Joel Silver, Denzel Washington, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A Kosove & David Valdes
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Frances De La Tour & Michael Gambon
Produced by: Alcon Entertainment, Silver Pictures & Hughes Brothers Films
Released by: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Running Time: 113 minutes Ratings: MA 15
When the world ends, that which rises from the ashes will be in sepia or at least this seems to be the trend when Hollywood comes out with post apocalyptic fare nowadays. For some reason there seems to be a desire to leach colour out of the world that emerges in the aftermath of nuclear destruction – a theme initially embraced in Terminator: Salvation, and like that film the technique seems to work extremely well to convey the starkness and brutality of what humanity has become as well as what has caused their fall from great heights. I picked this particular feature up as part of a special deal at a local chain store – it was part of a three for forty dollars deal which was good considering it’s only come out on DVD in the last few months.
So where is the connection between that work and this film? Simply in the fact that Eli is a man who is seeking to take a most prized book to a place where a group has gathered to try and restore the world through the knowledge and teachings that they have saved in the wake of the apocalypse. Located on the west coast of the continental United States this possibly solitary bastion is the destination that Eli seeks to reach with his precious book; a book that according to the protagonist was hunted and destroyed in the wake of the apocalypse. It was felt by the survivors this book was part of the reasons behind the causes of the war, the war that lead to the shattering of our global society and our fall into a new dark age.
Strangely though Eli and the people whom he is bringing this book to have a different opinion, they feel that the work has an significant value to the world even in its diminished state and the fact that it has almost been eradicated exemplifies that it is needed now more than ever. The book in question is of course the Bible and there are those who would say that even in our world it is the source of much of the troubles in the world. Certainly it is one of the most influential texts in known existence but to say that it is responsible for the ills and travails that plague the world is something of a cop out. It’s an excuse that seeks to absolve the stupidity and ignorance of humanity, two factors that are far more likely to lead to trouble than any book.
Thus Eli knows that as long as the book is taken somewhere to where it will be used correctly and dare I say it cherished for its positive values then there is hope for the world, hope for humanity. To let it fall into the hands of the opportunist and venal is to in turn diminish both world and humanity. It would be easy to look at the character and say he is somewhat obsessive although my opinion is that he is driven, although you’re never quite sure exactly what it is that drives him. Certainly the character mentions that he has been guided, but his conviction is one of a person who is focused, not someone who is off with the pixies. It’s almost like magical realism – a miracle has happened and rather than question it he has accepted it and accepted the burden that comes with it. Frankly Denzel Washington was aptly cast in this role, I don’t think anyone could have pulled it off, he brought to the character the right mix of pathos, earnestness and resolve that made him believable. If this film had a problem it was with dialogue, the sound of the dialogue was appalling for some reason maybe it was the disc but I had to seriously crank the volume up on my laptop to hear the characters talking in certain parts, it was almost as if they were mumbling. A well made and at the end touching film, showing that in even the darkest hour hope doth spring eternal...
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