by Peter J. O'Connell
Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Released: Dec. 12, 2014. Running time: 150 mins. Rated: PG 13 for violence,
including battle sequences and intense images
Exodus: Gods and Kings,
director Ridley Scott's version of the book of the Bible that recounts Moses'
leadership of the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt, is a motion picture that has
much to offer its viewers. Primarily what it has to offer is, in fact, motion
and pictures. There are spectacular scenes of battles and chariot chases and
gasp-inducing visualizations of the plagues afflicting Egypt and the events at
the Red Sea. All this is rendered with a masterful mixture of both CGI
(computer-generated imagery) and traditional “cast of thousands” effects.
When it comes to development of the famous characters and
story line, however, wonderment must yield to disappointment and, in fact, at
times outright bafflement. The leads, Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton
as the Pharaoh Ramses, are both British (OK, Edgerton is Australian), and both
look it here. This is not necessarily a drawback. Acting style can overcome
such factors. After all, Charlton Heston as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956
classic The Ten Commandments did not
look particularly Hebraic, but he did have a commanding presence. Neither Bale
nor Edgerton has much of such a presence here, though both have done estimable
work in other films in the past. However, the choice to cast Bale and Edgerton
does reduce the impact of the powerful story as story.
Moreover, Scott and his writers have eliminated many of the
most dramatic parts of the traditional account. We do not get to see the rescue
of Moses as a baby from the pogrom to which the Hebrews were being subjected.
We do not see the early phases of the relationship between Moses and Ramses. We
do not see Moses making his repeated pleas to Pharaoh to “let my people go.” We
do not see the Passover ritual. And the whole golden calf business is nowhere
to be found in the film.
Many religious folks may find that Scott's efforts—he is on
record as an anticlerical agnostic—to provide a naturalistic explanation for
the plagues and the events at the Red Sea—much as a cable TV channel on history
might do—diminish the whole point of the Biblical account. For example, the
parting of the Red Sea and the subsequent destruction of Pharaoh's army appear
to be caused, not so much by God's “mighty hand,” as Heston iconically
exclaimed, but by waterspouts and a sort of tsunami.
The film's most reduced part of the Biblical Exodus
narrative, however, and the most egregious miscasting, involves the most
important character—God. Scott has chosen to image God as a petulant,
11-year-old, very British-looking boy. Viewers, religious or otherwise, can
only say, “Wha . . . ?” at this choice or, maybe, “WHA . . . ?” And the
recording of the Ten Commandments themselves, only briefly and undramatically
depicted, does not involve—given this image of God, could not involve—carving
in stone by a mighty, lightning-like, divine finger but just some work by Moses
with a stylus.
So, see Exodus: Gods
and Kings for what it has, visual wonders, but be prepared for what it
lacks—a soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment