Noah is an effective if rather peculiar blockbuster, with Aronofsky's artistic flourishes sitting beside epic disaster movie stylings.....and for the most part it works extremely well, largely thanks to a very strong character performance by Russell Crowe, whose transformation from committed visionary to haunted zealot is convincing and moving. As expected from the director, there are many glorious and creative visuals - even the arrival of the animals in three main stages is wondrous - although the fallen angels (The Watchers) do unfortunately bring to mind the rock creature in Galaxy Quest. The cast is generally hugely effective - pitting Ray Winstone against Crowe was always going to be good value and does not disappoint - but in a male-dominated story it is the female performances which stand out: Emma Watson truly delivers, and the wonderful Jennifer Connelly is nuanced and immensely credible. Clint Mansell's score is often quite magnificent, from the majestic building of the ark to the affirming conclusion in particular, and the effects work is ambitious and mostly delivers the spectacle and scale successfully. There are some brave choices that make this movie stand out from the crowd - an evolution montage juxtaposed with Biblical creationism is not something you see in a big-budget movie every day - but it is also to be commended for creating some effective human stories and emotions from the familiar material.
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