The story of Noah is one we’ve all heard since our early days in Sunday school. The flood is a classic focus of early learning about God and the Bible, and has been portrayed many, MANY ways throughout the years. Few know that the story of Noah is presented in many different religious texts. The story of the flood is believed not only by Christians, but also Mesopotamian flood stories, the Puranas, Deucalion in Greek mythology, and in the lore of the K’iche’ and Mayan peoples of Central America, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa tribe of Native Americans in North America, and the Muisca people in South America. That being said it is a story fated for the silver screen. Today I saw that movie and let me tell you, regardless of what you’ve heard, it was well worth the time.

This version of Noah, based primarily in the Biblical text, begins with a simple introduction to Genesis. Adam, Eve, the garden, the fall, Cain, Abel, Seth, etc. The story is set in a time when the tribes of Cain and Seth are isolated. There are some added facets, but we’ll get to that. Noah, the last member of the tribe of Seth, is tasked by his father to carry on the purpose of man’s creation,; that is, to protect all the Creation of God and follow Him (the Creator) always. What follows is a surprisingly impactful depiction of the Biblical recording, telling the story of Noah, his family, and the difficulty of following God and His timing. On hand to aid them in understanding God’s guidance is Methuselah, the oldest, and for some reason, slightly mystical, man that remains on the Earth (also depicted as the grandfather of Noah).

Take note, however, that this is not your Sunday school Noah. Noah is a man, through and through. With that, come immense struggles to keep his godly walk, while also protecting his family and caring for God’s creation. Noah when attacked is not afraid to do what he must to ensure his family’s safety. With that in mind, he is not afraid to follow what he believes God is telling Him, even when that guidance is left to interpretation. In following God’s orders to build the ark, Noah is faced with his fair share of obstacles, including resource limitations, lack of guidance, and, most prominently, men who fear the inevitable flood.

Enter Tubal-Cain, the movies central villain, weapons/metals enthusiast, and king of the tribe of Cain. Interestingly enough this character is based on an individual mentioned in Genesis 4:22. He is a descendant of Cain in Genesis described in verse 22, “As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.” He is a man filled with rage, at both Noah and the Creator, and leads the tribe of Cain with reckless abandon. He is not without his struggles as well. I was interested in the portrayal of Cain as a man scorned (in his opinion) by God himself. He believes in God, fears God, and asks Him for guidance at a crucial plot point…receiving no answer. It is in this moment that we get our best glimpse of the misunderstanding on the part of Tabal Cain. He states to God, “I am a man created in your image, a man given dominion over the creatures of the earth. You give life and take it away. So too can I.”

It is in these glimpses, the characters’ reactions to struggle and tension, that the film truly flourishes. Never before seeing this film had I viewed Noah outside the filter applied in my childhood. Noah is a man. He sins, he struggles, and he second-guesses his ability to fulfill the Lord’s call in his life. Following the flood, Noah loses himself for the final quarter of the movie, grief-stricken and scarred by the deaths of all those outside the ark. It leads him to become cold, angry, and, at points, downright crazy. It is in this final quarter of the movie that I believe most people will abandon the film altogether. Noah, a man who up until this point has been told simply to build the ark and give shelter to the animals needed to restart life afterwards, believes it is not God’s will that humans continue to live after the flood. In this belief, he makes some incredibly dark decisions. However, after some truly tense moments, and what I thought at one point to be a true departure from the nature of Noah and God’s will, God’s true plan comes to light.

Following the departure from the ark, Noah falls into sadness, drunkness, and nakedness. He is overcome by his own decisions, his belief that he has failed, and his own personal faith. However, by God’s good grace, and from the most unlikely of sources, he receives a moment of clarity about what had transpired. “The creator chose you for a reason, Noah.”, the character states. “”You saw the wickedness of man. The Creator knew you would not look away. The choice was put in your hands for a reason.” I cannot detail what gets them to this point, as it would steal a plotline that truly makes or breaks one’s feelings about the movie. Suffice to say, stick with it and let it play out, you’ll be surprised.

Of course this movie is not without its thematic elements. Darren Aronofsky found opening in the biblical tale in which to insert some very unique interpretations. It is important to note that most of what has viewers aghast are these additions, and not Arnofsky’s portrayal of the actual source material, to which he surprisingly sticks to for 90% of the movie.

Integral to the plot are characters known as “the Watchers”. These titans of stone (once angels in heaven who attempted to aid Adam and Eve back to a godly walk after the fall), are present for every scene in a majority of the movie. They themselves are seeking redemption from the Creator, who left them on the Earth as punishment. They accompany Noah up until the point when the ark rises from the ground. It is these characters that present the biggest, and boldest, stretch from the classic portrayal of the Genesis flood. However, by the time they left the screen, I found them to be truly impactful additions to the tale and my interpretation to how God aided Noah in his work.

The Watchers aid Noah in building the ark, pulling down trees, heavy lifting, etc. I found myself quite often thinking about parts of the Noah story due to them. How did Noah build such a huge ark? Did he cut all the trees down with just his family? Why wouldn’t the sinful men of the world attack him at any point in the many years he spent in that one place building the ark? These questions are just some of many Arnofsky attempts to answer. Other include “Where did Noah get the resources to build the ark? How were they able to transport it back to the location of the ark? What did Noah’s family struggle with throughout the ordeal? How bad was the world outside of Noah’s families dwelling place? All these are answered in the film, and I was quite intrigued by the portrayals themselves.

Content-wise, this film is quite rough. It is very openly aimed at adults and older children. There is physical violence between many people in the tribe of Cain. In addition, in the film’s opening scene, there is the murder of a father in front of his son, the slaying of Abel by Cain, and the death of an animal (an interesting pre-flood climate dog creature). There is also violence against children, including a landscape littered with the corpses of children, victims of a previous attack by the Tribe of Cain. A survivor of the attack, a young girl, is seen with an immense gash in her abdomen, preventing her from ever being able to bear children (a major subplot of the film).

In addition there are multiple instances that allude to rape, slavery, and sacrifice. One particular scene in the film shows a desperate, heavily populated, area where people are trading their daughters, as well as women captured outside of the encampment, for food and money. For their women, they are given a donkey (which is tossed at the masses), which they literally rip apart with their bare hands and eat while it still lives. Pretty rough stuff if you ask me. One more scene people may abject to is a scene in which two characters disrobe before an alluded sexual encounter in the woods.

Overall, Noah is a rough, edgy, and impactful portrayal of the Biblical epic. It depicts a world truly broken, and how one individual attempts to follow the call of God on men to watch over creation. He is not without his flaws, as he is portrayed as a sinful man, and through his filter of sin, he must attempt to discern the will of God. The film adds some very unusual story elements, which some may take offense to. However, they shouldn’t, as this, much like every portrayal on the face of this earth, is simply one individuals attempt to relay the tale of Noah and the flood. This movie should not be seen as a lesson on Noah, nor should it be viewed from the filter acquired by most Christians during their countless encounters with the tale in the church setting. This movie left me asking some questions I had never before thought about Noah. Noah is a man tasked with a job that no man could face down alone. After the film, I looked out the window and imagined what, mentally, such a task could do to the individual who must carry it out. It would no doubt take it’s toll on his mind, and open him to temptation. How could someone listen all those people outside dying, and screaming to them for mercy and a place on the ark, yet stay strong in their following of God’s plan? Faith is the answer. Noah’s faith faltered multiple times during the 2 hours and 17 minutes that make up the film. In the end, however, he found the path again and God used him and his family to begin a new world full of life and hope, which would echo through the ages.

I, personally, give Noah an A- . Though I know some will most definitely disagree with me, I believe the film presents a very unique interpretation of Noah, not based in literal biblical fact, but, instead, in an expanded theoretical interpretation which, in my opinion, opens up the mind to questions that result in a much deeper understanding of the struggles of Noah and the grace of God.