Noah is a 2014 American drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ari Handel. Inspired by the biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis and the Book of Enoch, it stars Russell Crowe as Noah, along with Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures in North American theaters on March 28, 2014, in 2D and IMAX, while a version converted to 3D and IMAX 3D was released in several other countries. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $359 million worldwide, making it Aronofsky's highest-grossing film to date.
Although it received praise for its direction and acting, the film also generated controversy for its perceived environmentalist political messages and extensive use of extra-biblical sources for inspiration, such as the Book of Enoch. It was denied release in China, according to an anonymous source for "religion-related reasons", and was banned in several Muslim countries for its depiction of prophets venerated in Islam.
Plot As a child, Noah sees his father, Lamech, killed by king Tubal-cain for his land. As an adult, Noah lives with his wife, Naameh, and their sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. He dreams of a great flood, so he takes his family to consult his grandfather, Methuselah.
On the way, they come across a group of recently killed people and adopt the lone survivor, a girl named Ila. She is treated for an abdominal wound, and Naameh determines she will be unable to bear children. The group is chased by the murderers and escapes into the land of the Watchers, fallen angels that were stranded on Earth as stone creatures after they descended from Heaven to help Adam and Eve when they were banished from the Garden of Eden for eating the Forbidden Fruit.
Methuselah helps Noah understand his visions and gives him a seed from Eden, which he plants nearby. The Watchers arrive the next morning, and, while some presume he is a liar, water spouts from where Noah planted the seed and a mature forest pops up around them. The Watchers are convinced he is serving the Creator. They help him build an ark to preserve life for after the Flood.
Years later, Tubal-cain notices a huge flock of birds flying to the almost-completed ark, followed by snakes, insects, amphibians and reptiles, and leads his followers to confront Noah, who defies Tubal-cain and remarks that there is no escape for the line of Cain whose sins ravaged the land. When the Watchers form a defensive circle, Tubal-cain retreats and begins to build weapons to take the ark. Many animals come to the ark and are sedated with incense to sleep through the Flood.
With Ila in love with Shem, Noah goes to the refugee camp to find wives for his sons. When he witnesses the people's moral decay, he abandons his effort. Devastated by the idea of being alone his entire life, Ham runs into the forest. Naameh begs Noah to reconsider and, when he will not, goes to Methuselah for help. The old man cures Ila's infertility, while Ham befriends a refugee named Na'el.
When the rain begins, Tubal-cain incites his followers to storm the ark. Noah finds Ham in the forest, but leaves Na'el, who is stuck in a foothold trap and is trampled to death. His family enters the ark, except for Methuselah, who remains in the forest and is swept away by the rushing waters. The Watchers hold off Tubal-cain's army, sacrificing themselves and ascending back to Heaven. Tubal-cain slips onto the ark and solicits help from Ham, playing on the boy's anger towards Noah for Na'el's demise.
Ila discovers she is pregnant and tells Noah, who pleads with the Creator not to make him kill the child. The rains stop, seemingly indicating that the Creator wants the child to die, so Noah tells his family that, if the baby is a girl, he will kill her to ensure the future will be uncorrupted by humans.
Nine months later, Ila goes into labor as she and Shem are about to leave the ark on a raft. Naameh begs Noah to spare the child so they will stay, but he instead burns the raft. Ham interrupts to tell Noah the beasts are awake and eating each other where deer-like antelope was killed, which is a ruse so Tubal-cain can attack him. While they fight, Ila gives birth to female twins and the ark hits a mountaintop. Shem attacks his father and Tubal-cain is about to strike Noah with a rock, but Ham kills Tubal-cain with a dagger. Noah finds Ila, intending to kill the babies, but spares them because he finds nothing but love in his heart when he sees his newborn granddaughters.
Upon exiting the ark, Noah, thinking he has failed the Creator and deeming himself a monster, goes into isolation in a cave and makes wine to drown his sorrows. Ham, after witnessing his father's naked drunkenness, leaves to travel alone. Reconciling with his remaining family at Ila's behest, Noah charges his progeny with caring for the world and they witness intense waves of rainbows as symbols of the Creator's blessings.
Cast Russell Crowe as Noah Dakota Goyo as younger Noah Jennifer Connelly as Naameh, Noah's wife Ray Winstone as Tubal-cain, a descendant of Cain and Noah's nemesis Finn Wittrock as younger Tubal-cain Emma Watson as Ila, an orphan raised by Noah and Naameh who later becomes Shem's wife Skylar Burke as younger Ila Logan Lerman as Ham, Noah and Naameh's middle son Nolan Gross as younger Ham Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah, Noah's grandfather Thor Kjartansson as younger Methuselah Douglas Booth as Shem, Noah and Naameh's eldest son and Ila's husband Gavin Casalegno as younger Shem Leo McHugh Carroll as Japheth, Noah and Naameh's youngest son Marton Csokas as Lamech, Noah's father Madison Davenport as Na'el, Ham's love interest
Voices Frank Langella as the voice of Og, a Watcher who helps Noah Nick Nolte as the voice of Samyaza, the leader of the Watchers Mark Margolis as the voice of Magog, a Watcher Kevin Durand as the voice of Rameel, a Watcher
Production Development Aronofsky first became interested in the story of Noah and Nemeh in the seventh grade when, as part of a creative writing assignment, he submitted a poem about Noah entitled "The Dove". Years later, after finishing the film Pi, Aronofsky was searching for ideas for his next film and thought a film about Noah would be a good idea. Work on the script began in 2000, but Aronofsky put the project on hold when he learned Hallmark was already working on a similar film. Work on the draft resumed sometime later, and a first draft was completed in 2003.
Aronofsky struggled with how to adapt the story as a feature-length film, since, in the Bible, it is only four chapters long. The biblical text does not include the name of Noah's wife, nor of his sons' wives, but it does mention Noah getting drunk after the flood and getting into an altercation with one of his sons, which gave Aronofsky and his team ideas for events that might have taken place on the ark.
In April 2007, Aronofsky discussed Noah with The Guardian, explaining that he saw Noah as "a dark, complicated character" who experiences "real survivor's guilt" after the flood. Aronofsky was working on early drafts of the script for Noah around the time his first attempt to make The Fountain fell through when actor Brad Pitt left the project.
Ari Handel, who had previously collaborated with Aronofsky on The Fountain, The Wrestler, and Black Swan, helped Aronofsky develop the script. Before they found financial backing for Noah, they collaborated with Canadian artist Niko Henrichon to adapt the script as a graphic novel. The first volume of the graphic novel was released in the French language by Belgian publisher Le Lombard in October 2011 under the title Noé: Pour la cruauté des hommes (Noah: For the Cruelty of Men). After the creation of the graphic novel, Aronofsky struck a deal with Paramount and New Regency to produce a feature film of Noah with a budget of $130 million. Screenwriter John Logan was asked to re-draft the script alongside Aronofsky, but is not credited for his contributions in the completed film.
In October 2012, Emma Watson commented on the setting of the film: "I think what Darren's going for is a sense that it could be set in any time. It could be set sort of like a thousand years in the future or a thousand years in the past. ... You shouldn't be able to place it too much."
Themes Ari Handel, the co-writer of Noah, stated:
Commenting on God's mercy, Wesley Hill noted in First Things that "near the end of the film, Emma Watson's character, Ila ... says to Noah that perhaps God preserved him because God knew that he had a merciful heart" and that "the film ends up locating the rationale for God's mercy in some native spark of goodness in Noah that will, viewers hope, make the new, post-flood world more livable than the antediluvian one."
The president of the National Religious Broadcasters stated that the Noah film includes "major biblical themes", including "sin, judgment, righteousness, and God as Creator." According to some, the film also promotes the concept of evolutionary creation.
Casting Aronofsky offered the role of Noah to Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender, both of whom were unable to take the part due to previous commitments (Bale went on to star as Moses in Ridley Scott's religious epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings). Dakota Fanning was originally cast in the role of Ila, but departed due to a scheduling conflict, and Julianne Moore was considered for the role of Naameh. Liam Neeson, Liev Schreiber, and Val Kilmer were considered for the part of Tubal-cain, for which Aronofsky reportedly wanted an actor "with the grit and size to be convincing as he goes head-to-head against Crowe's Noah character".
Filming Principal photography began on 20 July 2012 in Dyrhólaey, Fossvogur, Reynisfjara, and other locations in southern Iceland. Filming wrapped up on 17 November 2012.
Filming also took place in New York state. A set representing Noah's Ark was built at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Upper Brookville, New York. In September 2012, while on a break from filming at a location on Long Island, Russell Crowe and a friend, both of whom had been kayaking for several hours, were rescued by the Coast Guard near Cold Spring Harbor. When Hurricane Sandy subjected New York to heavy rain and flooding in late October 2012, production was put on hold for a time.
Post-production Post-production lasted over 14 months, with Aronofsky attempting some of the most complicated and extensive effects ever used in film. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) said their work on the film represented "the most complicated rendering in the company's history."Anderson, John. (Fall 2013). The Many Worlds of Darren Aronofsky. Directors Guild of America. Retrieved October 16, 2013 from http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1304-Fall-2013/Darren-Aronofsky.aspx Regarding the film's extensive use of visual effects, Aronofsky said he and his crew "had to create an entire animal kingdom" using no real animals in the production, but instead creating "slightly tweaked" versions of real creatures.Masters, Kim. Darren Aronofsky, Paramount Spar Over 'Noah' Final Cut (Exclusive). The Hollywood Reporter. October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013. Besides the fictional land-based animals in the film, ILM was also responsible for the Watchers, the forest that sprouted from the seed, the deluge sequence during the battle between the Watchers and Tubal-cain and his army, and the two-minute-long sequence of the history of Earth's creation. To make the Watchers' movements realistic, VFX supervisor Ben Snow and Aronofsky studied footage of real ballet dancers from the director's Oscar-winning drama Black Swan.
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