Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Poisonwood Bible

Author(s): Brian (AZ)
The Poisonwood Bible

Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Written by Eric Roth
Produced by Fernando Meirelles, Steven Spielberg & Brian Grazer
Music by Howard Shore
Based on the Novel by Barbara Kingsolver

Main Cast
Toni Collette (Orleanna Price)
Russell Crowe (Nathan Price)
Chiwitel Ejiofor (Anatole Ngemba)
Saoirse Ronan (Leah Price/Adah Price)
Kristen Stewart (Rachel Price)
Chloe Moretz (Ruth May Price)

Tagline: “A Family of God. A Life of Sin.”

Synopsis: Orleanna Price was blinded on her wedding day. Not blinded in the sense that she could not see anymore, per se, but in the sense that she could not see anything beyond her husband’s orders. Her husband, Nathan, is a man of the lord, and absolutely nothing else. He spends his life worshipping God and interrogating those who do not. A Baptist minister of fifteen years, Nathan was assigned a mission no one else would dream of taking: a one-year stay in the Belgian Congo in Africa in order to convert the locals. Orleanna encourages this entirely, and takes their four daughters—the twins Leah and Adah (who has a minor case of mental retardation), Rachel and Ruth May. Not all of them would return.

Upon their arrival in the Congo, the Prices were greeted by Anatole Ngemba. He was one of the few people in the region that spoke English, and would serve as the girls’ tutor. It does not take long for the family to discover what life is like in the Congo. There is no government; no regulations; nothing. Simply leaving one’s area is enough to put one’s life at risk.

During the day, Nathan would go out to talk to natives about his faith, the girls would go to school with Anatole, and Orleanna would stay in their area and keep house, just as she did at home. As always, however, the schedule did not work perfectly. After schooling, the girls would sometimes sneak out and explore the area, which would prove to be more and more dangerous every day. And, when Orleanna ignores their fears so as to satisfy her husband, the girls turn to Anatole as a parental figure, who, alongside the rest of the host tribe, are beginning to turn on the Prices. Orleanna, however, is too blinded to realize this, while Nathan simply does not care. The children begin to notice that the tone between the family and the tribe has grown into something less-than-friendly, but are too afraid to do anything about it, as they fear it will clash with their parents’. With this false sense of security, Nathan continually makes advances on the natives about the tribe’s faith in Christianity, which only isolates them further. Nathan neglects the harm he is doing to his family, and the fact that he is residing in an incredibly dangerous place. But he is so far beyond caring about the welfare of others or even himself: his life is devoted to his faith. In fact, it wasn’t even about faith anymore. It was about influence. As Orleanna starts to take notice of the intense negativity from the natives and the life-threatening activity that occurs in simple daily life, she feels a sense of discontentment towards her husband’s sense of judgment that she has never felt before. She does her best to mask this, as she has done with every other emotion since she married Nathan, but as things become grittier and grittier, that becomes increasingly impossible.

Throughout the year, the family would face devastation, fallout and, for some, even death. How much will it take for Orleanna to finally rise above her husband? What will Nathan do to keep order and strict religion in his family? Everything unfolds in “The Poisonwood Bible.”

What the Press Would Say:

Fernando Meirelles’ adaptation of Barbara Kingsolver’s bestselling novel The Poisonwood Bible is, and I say this with no exaggeration whatsoever, the most tragic film I have ever seen. But it’s also one of the most uplifting. And most captivating. And most beautiful. And most disturbing. It is, flat out, one of the best films I have seen this decade.

But what, exactly, can I attribute the film’s triumph to? Numerous things, really. First of all, the absolutely flawless performances from everyone in the ensemble cast. Rising star Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a moving, entirely convincing performance as the Price girls’ tutor, and their only contact with the outside world, and “Atonement” teen Saoirse Ronan brings an emotional, very impressive performance to the table—as do her siblings, portrayed by Kristen Stewart and Chloe Moretz. But still, the real amazement on the acting front is the performances by the two leads, Toni Collette and Russell Crowe. Typically, I would talk about the lesser performance first and the superior one second, but it’s simply impossible to pick a favorite between the two. So instead, I will talk about them as a whole. Collette and Crowe put an incredible amount of trust in one another in their acting. In the beginning of the film, both of them have their values and beliefs completely set in stone. However, as the movie progresses, Collette’s character, Orleanna, gradually begins to question her husband as the mission grows worse and worse. Crowe, on the other hand, refuses to change. When these two ideals clash, as they do especially towards the end of the film, sparks fly off the screen. It is simply irrational to suppose that a viewer won’t be moved in the scene where Collette discusses her strife about her daughters’ loss of innocence, while Crowe remains stern and unsympathetic. I can confidently say that these are genuinely sublime performances, and that these two will be major threats come Oscar season.

As we know, good performances simply do not occur without solid direction, so we know for a fact that Fernando Meirelles did this film justice. The quality of his direction, however, goes well beyond creating great performances. Take, for instance, the now famous scene involving flesh-eating ants (yes, you know which one I’m talking about). The scene begins in a tight shot with music so soft you can barely hear it serenading in the background, and by the conclusion of the scene, we view an extremely wide shot with a thunderous overture. And then, in the very next scene, we view a chillingly loveless confrontation between the daughters and their mother (another one of Collette’s best moments). About half of the film’s scenes are sweeping and epic, while the other half are intimate and emotional, and Meirelles knows exactly what he’s doing for each style.

A less-than-skilled screenwriter may take Barbara Kingsolver’s amazing novel and use it as an excuse to be, for lack of a better word, lazy, when writing the adaptation. Fortunately, this was not the case for Eric Roth when he was writing “The Poisonwood Bible.” No, instead, he took advantage of the book’s incredibly complex characters and multi-dimensional events. Much to his credit, none of the dialogue is copied directly from the novel, however it feels so realistic, one feels it must be. Roth treated the screenplay very seriously and did something inarguably powerful with it.

“The Poisonwood Bible” is more than the best film of the year; it’s an emotional and powerful event. On every front, from acting, to writing, to direction, to general quality, “The Poisonwood Bible” is a complete and utter masterpiece.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director (Fernando Meirelles)
Best Actor (Russell Crowe)
Best Actress (Toni Collette)
Best Adapted Screenplay

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