Creation [PG]

The world’s future can be changed with just a single idea, and Charles Darwin not only had the idea, but the truth. Suffering from illness and visits from his deceased daughter, Darwin struggles through the barriers of writing his book, accepting the consequences of the truth, and the battle between science and religion. 

Usually this sort of stuff doesn’t appeal to me, but I passed this title for the thousandth time at work today and, completely on impulse, hired it out to watch tonight. My advice to readers in need of a movie: go with your gut feeling. Throughout this film, I found myself completely enthralled, intrigued, giggling, and at one point even crying. It’s a brilliant film filled with melancholy music, strong moral dilemmas, and knockout performances. 

The future of the human race, of the world, can be changed with a single idea and Charles Darwin not only had the idea, but the truth. After twenty years of study and experiments, Darwin finally decides to complete his book: The Origin of Species. But his health is failing him and he harbours a guilty conscience that is kept alive by the visits of his deceased daughter, Annie. This is not only a conflict of interests, it’s a battle between science and religion and can Darwin find the strength to finish what he’s started and accept the devastating consequences? 

Based on the book Annie’s Box by Randal Keyes, Creation chronicles the events that surrounded Charles Darwin and his book The Origin of Species. 

What brings out all the emotions and created the atmosphere of this movie is the music. The score uses mostly violins, which I feel are the most melancholy of instruments and it’s their power that causes the audience to respond on an emotional level. The mixture of the actors’ performances and the music reduced me to tears in this film. 

Paul Bettany stars as Darwin and his performance was absolutely entrancing. He was warm, sincere, and loving, but also reclusive, introverted, and fearful. This is the most stunning performance I have seen Paul Bettany do. 

Starring Jennifer Connelly, Martha West, Jim Carter, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tony Jones, Creation was a wonderful drama filled with moral dilemmas, love, ambition, truths, and melancholy. It was really a beautiful film.