Creation Review - Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin

150 Years After Darwin's World Changing On the Origin of the Species

Nov 23, 2009 M.L. Costa

Charles Darwin is famed for penning a definitive work about the evolution of life, but his own life is under the microscope in the British biopic, Creation.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is best known for his presentation of his theories about evolution in his book On the Origin of Species (1859).

As of November 24, 2009, On the Origin of Species has been published for exactly one hundred and fifty years, and marking the anniversary of its publication, Creation looks at the life of Charles Darwin, focusing on the time period when he completed his controversial thesis.

The Plot of Creation

Naturalist Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) is struggling to complete his longtime work about the origin of the species because he himself is having a crisis of life views since the death of his ten-year old daughter Anne Elizabeth Darwin (1841-1851).

Illness and depression hinders Darwin as he is plagued by haunting memory and mental debate, threatening his previously strong marriage as his wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly) begins to despair of regaining her husband’s affection and confidence.

Meanwhile, contrasting to Charles’ deteriorating faith due to the death of their child, Emma has sought solace in belief of the hereafter and God, which throws Darwin’s controversial evolutionary theories into further difficulty since Charles secretly fears that Emma will disapprove of his theory as a direct attack on Christianity.

The Evolution of Creation

Creation explores grief, fear, and human relationships paralleled against the scientific approach to order.

The biopic is based on the non-fiction book Annie’s Box: Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution authored by the great-great-grandson of the Darwins, Randal Keynes.

The origin of the Darwin biography was prompted by the discovery of a keepsake box about Annie compiled by Charles and Emma Darwin, and both the biography and the movie focus on the relationship of the daughter to her parents.

Critiquing Creation

Overall Creation is a well-made film which is both intriguing and entertaining. Some shots of embryonic birds and scientific experiments are not for the faint of stomach, and there are some rough or unfilled aspects. Nonetheless, watching the film is both like watching a play and playing with a puzzle, and it is worth paying the price of admission.

Paul Bettany delivers an impressive performance, and Charles and Emma Darwin being played by the actually wed couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly adds to the film’s feeling of realism.

Release Dates of Creation

Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Creation was released to cinemas in Britain in September 2009, and it is due to be released in the USA in December 2009.

The copyright of the article Creation Review - Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin in Film Dramas is owned by M.L. Costa. Permission to republish Creation Review - Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Origin of the Species and Darwin's daughter Annie

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Comments

Jan 15, 2010 6:50 PM

Guest :

The book, Creation, was given to me by my son for Christmas and is beautifully written - honestly one of the best I've ever read. I have always felt great empathy for Charles Darwin, especially after I lost one of my own beloved children and may never recover the faith that comforted Emma Darwin's. Also, I've worked around many scientists in universities and felt, in spite of all the talk about interdisciplinary collaborations, many have a very narrow band of interest. I love reading how the scientists of that day expressed their world views. I hope this movie makes it to Houston and if not that I can get it on DVD.

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