The Great Flood

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." — Hebrews 11:7

Tonight's movie for discussion is "Noah." Directed and co-written by Darren Aronofsky, it was a movie that drew a lot of attention. It drew praise from many evangelicals for its fidelity to Scripture, and also drew criticism from evangelicals for straying from the Biblical account. How can both be true?

It drew praise from non-Christians for its epic scope and storytelling. And it drew criticism from non-Christians for being a poorly made film that lacked a compelling narrative and strong visual style. How can both be true?

"Noah" is a film of contradictions. It seemed people loved it and some hated it. It was a polarizing film, but it also started a conversation. It's the fact that people were talking about it and — by extension — the Biblical narrative that inspired it that is the biggest success of "Noah."

Personally, I hated the movie. I had theological issues with the way it was told — particularly the way Noah is portrayed — but that was hardly my only complaint. We've talked in class about the way we react to movies — either tending toward how the story sits with us morally or how the film sits with us aesthetically. In the case of "Noah," I would say both were violated. I was upset about the story, yes, but it was the visual style and filmmaking elements that were most surprisingly offensive to me. It wasn't just that rock monsters helped build the Ark — which I found absurd — it's the claymation style of the monsters that took me out of the moment.

Aronofsky has done some well-made films. I'm not a fan because I find his stories too dark and upsetting, but I've always appreciated his craft. It was the failure of craft in "Noah" that was most upsetting to me.

But the theology was warped, too. Aronofsky is not a Christian, in fact he's not a believer. He was raised Jewish, and has long been fascinated by the Noah narrative, but he now considers himself an atheist. At best he's a secular Jew, and I think that informed the way he approached the story. It's set up almost the way you'd expect a classic myth to be told, and in that way I feel like it lacks the heart, passion, and faith of a true believer.

In addition, Aronofsky and his co-writer, Ari Handel, round out the narrative with information from Jewish sacred texts — the books of Enoch and Jubilees. Since this isn't part of the Christian cannon, the information of the account provided by these works alters the story from our expectation and perception.

Aronofsky further uses the Genesis narrative, but he approaches the wonder of creation through the lens of someone who doesn't believe in God. It's not a true creationist perspective — and doesn't remain true to the Biblical account. He tells the story from the point-of-view of one who doesn't believe God is real, but rather uses God and faith as a means of telling a story that he hopes will tell us something about humanity.

The story of Noah isn't meant to be an exploration of the human condition — it's a story of faith. It's about the faith of Noah and the faithfulness of God to preserve His creation and promise never to wipe the slate clean again, no matter how far we fall away from Him and His plan.

None of that is captured in this film. Noah is depicted as stoic, deeply conflicted, and somewhat fatalistic about humanity. He thinks humanity should end — despite what he's told by God and others in his life.

I was upset about how the film strayed from basic facts of the story — the depiction of Noah's family, the order of events, a stowaway on the Ark that ate some of the animals, and the heavy-handed environmental theme. But what bothered me most was the movie misses the point.

Whatever else, Noah's is a story about faith. But faith is what is missing from this narrative. Of course it's hard to tell a story about faith when you have none yourself, which is perhaps why Aronofsky fails this fundamentally.

I didn't care for "Noah," and would never choose to watch it again. But it is still a mainstream film telling a story from the Bible. Like it or hate it, "Noah" is an opportunity to engage an unbelieving world in a story of faith, and that's never a bad thing.