After “Black Swan” topped my best of 2010 list, Darren Aronofsky could have made a film about virtually anything, and I would turn out to see it. From the earliest announcement of Aronofsky’s “Noah” in 2011, I was deliriously excited to see his distinct spin on the well-known Biblical story.
I maintained faith in spite of nearly every media report drumming up controversy about the film. It became impossible to escape stories that claimed Aronofsky was replacing the original narrative with an environmental message, or that he was purging God from the film entirely. Going in, I had the impression that I was bound to be offended by something in “Noah,” no matter how artfully Aronofsky presented it.
As it turns out, nothing that generated headlines about the film offended me. What did, however, was the simple and rudimentary script of “Noah.” It felt like Aronofsky went into production with the first draft for something that shows potential for greatness but achieves little of it.
As a character, Noah feels remarkably incomplete and incoherent. His motivations are unclear, and I’m not sure whether to interpret that as Aronofsky saying God is confused … or whether Aronofsky himself is confused. Russell Crowe turns in a rather schizoid performance, grappling with the seeming non-sequiturs of his character as much as he is with anything relating to God.
Marshall and the Movies 
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