Film Review : Creation

There has been a considerable profile to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, and the 150th of his landmark book "On The Origin Of Species". Being the modern world that we live in, these events could not possibly be allowed to pass without a film being made. And so it has come to pass.....

Creation is a film less about the theories expounded in Darwin's book or the longer progression of his studies to reach the conclusion that he ultimately reached. It concentrates more on his family life and, in particular, the death of his daughter at ten years of age. This all happened when his studies were at an advanced stage, and seemingly played a large part in his reluctance to publish the book at all.

Whilst it is a very human tale - Darwin drowning his grief by retreating into science, whilst his wife does so by retreating into religion. It doesn't any kind of genius to see the familial tensions to be built up against the backdrop of Darwin's then controversial conclusions.

The Darwins are played by real life couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly and they play their parts well, with Bettany in particular excelling at communicating the torment that he feels. The real crux lies in the fact that they were cousins, and Darwin believes that this is a contributory factor to their daughters early death.

There's an engrossing tale to be told here but I'm afraid that this movie, whilst enjoyable enough, really doesn't engage sufficiently to really grab. There's insufficient backstory of Darwin's progression to this point, so at times the movie degrades into a science v religion tale which serves an injustice to the characters portrayed.