Film review: The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli. 117 minutes. Rated MA15+. Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes. Written by Gary Whitta.

Films about faith, and characters whose devotion to serving the word of God features prominently in the plot, have resulted in some extraordinary films over the years. Apart from the biblical epics like The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur, there is also Gene Hackman's memorable 'Reverend Scott' in The Poseidon Adventure and a young Julie Andrews serving Max von Sydow's will and missionary zeal in Hawaii. In 2004, Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ (with its authentic Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew dialogue), divided audiences around the world – not only with its gruesome recreation of the death of Jesus, but also the resulting accusations of anti-semitism and misappropriation of Christian ideology which managed to either outrage, or inspire, practically everybody.

In The Book of Eli, an apocalyptic event involving the sun has turned earth into a desolate wasteland. Eli (Denzel Washington) is heading west, carrying with him a book that holds the key to the future of humanity. Along the way, he encounters marauding savages, murderers and rapists who roam the barren environment in search of food, water and possessions. Eventually, he arrives at a small town – home to a paranoid community ruled by self-proclaimed leader Carnegie (Gary Oldman), whose moronic henchmen return each night from having been out searching for the very book Eli has in his possession. When Carnegie discovers that the book is finally within reach, a furious battle of wills for its ownership ensues – a battle that can only result in one victor.

Shot in arresting monochromatic visual style by cinematographer Don Burgess (Cast Away, Spider-Man, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and accompanied by a fantastically atmospheric soundscape from Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross and Claudia Sarne, the Hughes brothers (From Hell, Menace II Society) have fashioned a bleak, sinister and oppressively violent tale of one man's journey to spiritual redemption. Washington is compelling as the devoted Eli and Mila Kunis (better known as the voice of Meg Griffin in The Family Guy) is perfect as his unlikely protegé 'Solara', who ends up being incredibly handy with a grenade.

The film's single greatest weakness, however, is Whitta's flawed script which, even though it manages to impressively mask the sting in its tail, serves up relentless and gratuitous violence in place of character development. It also manages to misjudge a critical point of faith-based reference, which is that it is our hope that faith should ultimately serve to unite us. Here, it only divides us into two groups: one that will revere the purpose of Eli's noble but excessively blood-lusty endeavour, and another that will not be able get out of the cinema fast enough once it's all over.

Pictured: Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis in The Book of Eli.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.