“Noah,” a Biblically-inspired film directed by Darren Aronofsky, tells the story of Noah and his family and their struggle to survive the flood while following the Creator’s demands.
As a young boy, Noah (Russell Crowe) witnesses his father, Lamech (Marton Csokas), killed by Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone), because the latter wanted Lamech’s land.
Many years later, Noah is living with his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly) and three sons, Shem (Douglas Booth), Ham (Logan Lerman) and Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll).
After being haunted by dreams and seeing a flower grow right before his eyes, Noah and his family decide to travel to visit Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins), Noah’s grandfather.
On the journey, they adopt a girl, Ila, who was wounded in an attack by Tubal-Cain and has become barren. Her entire village had been killed and she was the lone survivor.
After being chased by Tubal-Cain’s men, Noah and his family are able to find refuge with fallen angels known as the Watchers. One of the Watchers leads them to Methuselah on a far away mountain.
During the visit to Methuselah, Noah is given a seed from the garden of Eden. He plants the seed from which an entire forest grows, a forest to be used to build an ark.
Eight years later, animals begin to arrive as the ark is almost finished. Noah prepares for the flood that is soon to come. He begins to search for wives for his sons, but when he sees what Tubal-Cain’s people have become, he realizes that the Creator wants the human race to end and ceases his efforts.
As the rains start to fall, Tubal-Cain and his people try to get on the ark. The Watchers sacrifice themselves to protect the ark, and in doing so, they are allowed to ascend into Heaven. Tubal-Cain manages to get onto the boat and survives the rain.
During this time, Ila falls in love with Shem and becomes pregnant. Although she was barren, Methuselah healed her at the request of Naameh. Noah, believing still that the human race is to end, tells Ila and Shem that if the child is a girl, he will kill her in order to achieve the Creator’s wish to end humanity.
Will Noah follow his plan to end humanity? Will Tubal-Cain manage to get revenge against Noah?
“Noah” has created controversy since its release. Many Christians argue that the movie strays too far from the actual Biblical story and is just a work of fiction. Those who are willing to look at the movie as a work of art, though, will enjoy the movie because of its beautiful graphics and action-packed scenes.
“Noah” includes a few intense scenes that may not be appropriate for younger children.
