There have been so many films about the apocalypse, the end of the world. Most have been cheesy exercises in scare tactics aimed as allegory. Some like The Road Warrior are just brilliant and some are just awful. See Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Damnation Alley for the latter. The latest to tackle the last of human existence is from the Hughes Brothers (From Hell and Dead Presidents), and is called The Book of Eli.
It is thirty years after the Big War, the one with the hole in the sky. As we get the first images of this world, there are dead bodies covered in ash in a destroyed forest. A hairless cat begins eating a corpse. An arrow goes through the kitty and Eli (Denzel Washington) emerges from the buried rubble. The next scene is Eli cooking the animal and sharing his catch with a little mouse. He prays to God for “His” blessings. The next day a group of motorcycle bandits attack some travelers. Eli says that it is none of his business and he must keep on his path.
He comes across a village run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Carnegie runs the entire town and sends out his gang to look for a book. All the motorcycle guys come back from raids but do not have the exact book he wants. When Eli gets into town, he meets up with the Carnegie gang and promptly disposes of most of them in an orgy of blood and guts. Impressed by the display of knife wielding, Carnegie asks Eli to stay but he politely refuses. Carnegie is not a man to take no for an answer and asks the mysterious stranger to stay the night.
That evening, Carnegie sends Solara (Mila Kunis) into Eli’s room for company. He refuses her advances but agrees to let her stay in his room. He gives her some of his food, but they pray over the meal. Solara has never seen anyone pray and knows nothing about it other than it is comforting. She also notices his book hidden away. The next day she tries to remember the prayer for her mother. When Carnegie sees this and finds out its origin, he instantly knows that Eli is no ordinary man. Solara tells Carnegie about the book. He now knows that Eli carries the item he has been searching for, the last copy of the Holy Bible.
Carnegie will do anything to possess The Word. Thus the pieces are set for our Battle Royale between the forces who want the Bible to control the masses, and Eli who wants to make sure that the Word of God is placed in the right hands. We get to go apocalyptic Road Warrior in the middle of the arid desert.
Denzel Washington gives yet another great performance as Eli. He is a stoic warrior, forced to fight in order to protect loved ones. Like the knights of ancient tales, his is a noble mission – doing the work of The Lord. In this world, he is the ultimate abnormality, a man who just wants to be left alone to pursue his righteous path.
Mila Kunis eventually will become the face of new Hollywood actors. She is slowly building a strong resume of small parts in important, high box office films. She shows that she can handle both comedy and action with equal aplomb. Now, all she need is the romantic drama to prove that she can win every audience.
It is great to see Jennifer Beals in a strong but small part. As Claudia, the blind mother of Solara, she isn’t given much to do, but makes the best use of this small pivotal role. Gary Oldman has been playing parts like Carnegie so many times he could probably do it in his sleep. Here it is much more of the same, the over the top bad guy. But, in a few small instances, he does give his character a bit of humanity.
The production values of The Book of Eli are perfectly dark and flat. The world of Eli is almost black and white, with dirty sand blowing to and fro. But the film does eventually place bits of color throughout, finally finding a full spectrum. It is a subtle effect that shows the majestic power that is black and white film-making.
The Book of Eli will probably offend those who hate religion. The power of Majesty that is being “One with the Lord” will bother those who mock the concept of God. Those expecting wall to wall action will be disappointed by the long passages of walking and talking. This is not the film the ads portray. That said, it is better than I expected.
One last note, for those film geeks in the audience, look for the poster of A Boy and His Dog in the background. For those who have never seen the film, it is Don Johnson’s best work.
