MOVIE: CREATION

Science you say, hell yes! Creation is the story of Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) as he battles with the ramifications of his theory of evolution, a theory which, in the eyes of many, is an attempt to kill God. Set in the years leading up to the publication of Darwin’s seminal On The Origin Of Species, it’s your classic bout between science and religion, with Darwin and a small band of progressive scientists taking on the world, and, perhaps more significantly for Darwin, his staunchly pious wife (played by Bettany’s real life partner, Jennifer Connelly). Plagued by illness, ostracised by society for waging war with God and haunted by the ghost of his eldest daughter, Creation is a portrait of a tortured man. Not quite enough raw science for me, and the trials and tribulations which Darwin endures make for a somewhat bleak second act, but the film has a nice aesthetic and Bettany and Connelly are very likeable as the leads. Overall a pleasant couple of hours in the cinema, though a word to the faithful, religion does come out at times looking a bit like a sore loser. (ABr)