The Book of Eli
Directed By: Albert and Allen Hughes
Written By: Gary Whitta
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis
Director of Photography: Don Burgess, Editor: Cindy Mollo, Production Designer: Gae S. Buckley, Original Music: Atticus Ross
Rated: R for some brutal violence and language.
It is shocking at times how close The Book of Eli, a new post-apocalyptic action film starring Denzel Washington, resembles its higher pedigreed cousin The Road, which was only released a few months ago. While the latter was an adaptation of a an allegorical Cormac McCarthy novel that might constitutes one of the most depressing films ever made, The Book of Eli is a Hollywood studio affair, full of big action set pieces, a by-the-numbers plot, and CGI galore. Yet despite such contrivances, The Book of Eli is surprisingly fun. Directed by the Hughes Brothers, acclaimed for their breakout hit Menace 2 Society but maligned since their last film, From Hell, The Book of Eli takes many of the best elements from post-apocalyptic cinema and throws them together in a moody and quiet tone that seethes on the screen instead of explodes, and for the better.
Mr. Washington, who knows how to play his age and be an action hero at the same time, plays the titular character of Eli. The film is set 30 years after an unexplained nuclear holocaust. The opening scenes, which simply feature Mr. Washington walking along deserted backdrops, create a world that is part Mad Max with a more apocalyptic look. Broken highways, skeletons, and burnt cars pile the roads that Eli walks. When he comes across a woman in need, he automatically sees it for what it is—a trap by highjackers, which he quickly disposes of in a beautiful silhouette action sequence.
The real heart of the story plays out when Eli reaches a Pekinpah inspired town run by Carnegie, played by the world’s most reliable villain, Gary Oldman. Carnegie rules the town due to his control on water, but he is attempting to find a copy of the Bible in order to truly gain power—Eli happens to have the last copy. From there, The Book of Eli becomes a cat and mouse game of blood and explosions, sparsed between some quiet moments between Mr. Washington and Mila Kunis as a girl in search of adventure. Ms. Kunis’s character plays something of a niece to Mr. Washington in what can only be described as a contrived character—it doesn’t help either that her skin is a beautiful tan and her teeth as white as ghosts, making her a little too perfect for this brutal environment.
The script by Gary Whitta has some interesting themes of religion and its use—Carnegie plans to use the book for propaganda, while Eli must bring it to the coast for its rightful use. But the Hughes Brothers are more concerned with their action pieces and visuals than any thematic material. It might be for the better—as long as actors like Mr. Washington, with his vibrant tranquility, and Mr. Oldman, with his over-the-top evil, can keep us interested in this environment, there’s really no reason for us to sit through a philosophical debate. The two actors who headline this film play the roles we are use to seeing them perform, and know how to keep within the boundaries of our enjoyment, letting their personalities keep us entertained, as well as the visuals around them.
The visuals are especially key here as the Hughes Brothers are so crafty with their set pieces. The brothers love to use the camera to engross us in the action, using tracking shots very reminiscent of another apocalyptic film, Children of Men. Of course, that film used its shots to create a stunning realism to their world, while the Hughes Brothers simply prefer the spectacle of it all, making the audience say “cool” instead of asking them to consider the implications of such a visual stunt.
Which by no means is a bad thing—The Book of Eli is constantly moving with a feisty tone and a fevering pace, despite its over-dramatic and over-accentuated ending. The film rarely pushes boundaries, both cinematically as well as thematically, but it certainly is not expected to. Instead, we simply enjoy walking across this barren land, which despite the apocalypse can be quite some fun.
