Darwin At Home

Paul Bettany and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly are husband and wife in real life and in the new film "Creation". Bettany plays Charles Darwin, wrestling with his conscience as he tries to decide if he should publish his seminal work "The Origin of Species",which he knows to be scientifically sound, even as his wife frets about where they'll end up in eternity. God vs. Science. Sounds interesting right? You'd think so wouldn't ya. Before I offer up an opinion on this, I'd like to propose my own scientific theory on a relevant subject. That subject is Jennifer Connelly. Her credentials speak for themselves. She has an Oscar for cripe's sake. She's dark and beautiful. But she has never, never, never brought anything even close to a sense of humor or even a light touch to any role she has ever played. My theory? She is a black hole of comedy. Jennifer Connelly could suck the funny out of a Marx Brothers marathon. I have never seen any actress bring less of a humorous slant to anything she does. Well, you say, she's a dramatic actress. True, and she plays drama with intelligence and honesty. But every role has opportunity for comic choice simply because every life has moments with the capacity for humor. She has never mined any choice for its lighter possibilities. It's bizzare and really unsettling. This movie gives me a chance to rant like this because "Creation" is in dire need of something, anything funny.
Charles Darwin is a figure who opened up the entire world to the truth of our history and our nature and yet in this film you'd barely notice that. Instead the film makers chose to tell an overwrought domestic drama that has more in common with a Gothic ghost story than the tale of a great thinker that changed the world. This is the Darwin story you chose to tell? (I used this same line in reference to "Invictus" which relegates Nelson Mandela's story to the back seat in favor of a RUGBY story).
"Creation" is long on night sweats and creepy little girls and short on both science and character. Well, like I said, at least Jennifer Connelly is perfect for overwrought Gothic horror.