The Tuesday Night is Film Night film tonight is yet another genre departure for us, as we delve into a post-apocalyptic tale and find out what is between the covers of;
The Book of Eli
Well, where can on start with a review for a film such as this? Saying too much about the film will give away the plot, saying too little and you may not be interested. I'll try to strike a happy medium.
The Book of Eli follows the story of a post-apocalyptic world, where civilisation has all but disappeared and small bands of people either try to re-establish a community or conversely roam around preying on others for their own gain. The central character, unsurprisingly called Eli, is played superbly by Denzil Washington, who is totally sublime as the cooler than cool solo maverick, who has been roaming the wilderness for thirty years, intent on delivering a promise. Without giving too much away, his mission is to deliver, and again no prizes for guessing, a book. And it is no ordinary book, it is a prized possession whose notoriety has become legendary within the desolate world that the film is set in.
The story of The Book of Eli is fairly unique, with sufficient plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. It is also beautifully shot. The film has a sepia tone about it, which really sets the mood for the dismal post-apocalyptic desolate wasteland.
Eli travels west, guarding his secret and protecting it in some extreme fashion from the hijackers that he meets along the way. Yes, there is some guts and gore, as the knife swinging Eli clears his attackers out of the way, but if you can overlook this and stick with it, it is a really gripping tale.
Along the way, Eli meets up with Solara (Mila Kunis) who was born after the world was devastated, so has no knowledge of the earth prior to the apocalypse, apart from what she has learnt from her blind mother; Claudia (Jennifer Beals). Solara lives in a small community led by Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who has heard of the legend that is "the book" and is determined to find it, so it's an added bonus when Eli turns up with the book in his back pack.
As for the rest of the story, you'll have to watch the movie to find out. It is interesting, gripping and dramatic. The twist with the book is worth the wait and the way the film rounds off is a near perfect ending.
The cast is many and varied, including appearances from Michael Gambon and Frances de la Tour, who play an old couple holed up in a quaint house in the middle of nowhere. They are not so quaint when the house comes under attack and the expletives coming from their mouths does inject some humour into a tricky situation! I'm sure Rigsby would be shocked by Miss Jones' gutter mouth. (That's a Rising Damp reference, if you're too young to remember then Google it.)
So in summation, The Book of Eli has a great start, a brilliant story, fantastic characters, it's beautifully shot, with some incredible special effects, some superb acting, with exquisite plot twists, a modicum of humour and a touching end. All in all a great film.
Does the summation get reflected in the scores? Well, it's a two hour film, and you need to be prepared to stick with it, some of the panel here at TNiFN Towers found it a little hard, but it came out with a decent rating.
TNiFN Rating 82%
IMDB Link
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