Emma Watson Stars in ‘Noah’ But Was It A Mistake? Critics Pan The Film
Emma Watson didn’t think that director Darren Aronofsky was the right man for the new movie “Noah.”
Although he had enjoyed critical acclaim for his firm “The Black Swan” with Natalie Portman, Emma wasn’t sure he could pull off a biblical story, like “Noah.”
Emma explained her doubts to The Associated Press: “Darren does these very dark, very intense, very gritty, very real films. And then Noah is kind of — you see this guy with the long beard and there’s the animals…. You can’t really picture it.”
For Emma Watson, 23, every film she makes takes her further away from her “Hermione” character in the “Harry Potter” film series.
She is always looking for something more challenging and different, and she thinks she has found it in this script by Aronofsky and Ari Handel.
“I think it’s a really original take on a genre, on a story, on an idea,” said Watson, who plays the part of Noah’s adopted daughter Ila.
Aronofsky has assembled a stellar cast; apart from Watson, it includes Russell Crowe as Noah, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, and Anthony Hopkins.
The movie is being released in a number of different formats. Apart from the basic 2-D, there is a 3-D version, and it also available in IMAX standard and IMAX 3-D
Following the film’s launch on March 28, Emma was obliged to join the promotion circus that accompanies film releases these days.
That meant a day of interviews, having to field a multitude of questions. Some serious, some intrusive, and others positively banal.
Some examples:
Q: Did stepping into the world of “Noah” make you consider your own take on religion?
A: I already had the sense that I was someone who was more spiritual than specifically religious…. I’m really interested in those things that are more far-reaching than culture, nationality, race, religion.
Q: You’ll get your degree in English lit from Brown in May. Are you excited?
A: I will be having a hell of a party. It will just be a relief, I think, because I’ve been really juggling so much, and it will just be really nice to be able to focus on just one thing, but I think I’ll miss it, too.
Unfortunately for Emma Watson, it is far from certain that she made the right choice in agreeing to appear in this movie.
Critical reviews have been mixed, with the few positive ones being eclipsed by the venom of the negative criticism.
Example: IndieWire says: ” This is Aronosky’s worst movie” and goes on to say that “it is an epic misfire.”
The fact that Aronosky is a professed Atheist, did not endear the movie to America’s large community of fundamentalist Christians. This drove Paramount Pictures to issue a form of disclaimer distancing itself from Aronosky’s vision.
Fortunately, Emma Watson is young enough to put disasters behind her and move on with the rest of her life.
If you want to get a flavor of Noah, this is the official trailer:
