Z For Zachariah

A thoughtful post-apocalyptic drama which marries the small-detail intensity of a stage play with grandiose scenery the likes of which only cinema can provide (New Zealand masquerading as somewhere in southern America).

Chitty Chitty Ejiofor stumbles into Margot Robbie's strangely uncontaminated farm valley home a year or so after a nuclear disaster that is discussed only in half-finished sentences and knowing looks but which was probably a result of war rather than mass power station meltdowns.

Or maybe it's not so strange that her little corner of the world is uncontaminated while the rest of the locale gets Geiger counters clicking like horny grasshoppers: she's the wide-eyed daughter of a preacher who built the nearby chapel as well as their home, presumably. Daddy's gone seeking survivors, Ann (Robbie's character) digs and sows and ploughs with a rustic determination seemingly from a bygone age.

John (Ejiofor) is suffering radiation sickness. Obviously he's going to survive with some tender nursing from Ann otherwise it's going to be a short film. Equally obvious is the likelihood they will bond on a deep enough level to consider making their relationship a more, ahem, biblical one.

Slight problem - John is not a religious fellow. Indeed, he's a scientist: practical to the core, which comes in handy in respect of advising Ann on how to hand pump gasoline from the local station to fuel her tractor. But when it comes to his notion of building a water wheel to replace a broken beyond repair generator he cannot quite understand her reluctance to use the wooden walls of the chapel. It's raw materials for him; sacrosanct to her.

Their relationship has not yet reached consummation when Chris Pine's Caleb turns up, adding extra muscle power to jobs around the farm but also much tension when it seems clear Ann finds him quite alluring. To further complicate things for John, Caleb shares Ann's faith although he agrees with using the wood from the chapel to make that wheel. His accurate but somewhat manipulative observation that it's what Ann brings to the building with her beliefs and her regular playing of the old church organ that make it holy.

Using God to get into a woman's pants is a pretty low tactic but ultimately it works. John tries to take it on the chin but by this point knows he is in love with Ann. Godless he might be but he's seemed reasonably moral to this point. So when he and Caleb set off to put the completed water wheel in place but only he returns, claiming the other guy has moved on in search of a possibly mythical citadel further towards the coast, do we believe him?

Do we fuck and it's doubtful Ann does either but he keeps in her good books by dragging the organ into the farm barn, saving it from exposure to the elements now that the chapel has been dismantled. Cue musical finale, not in the sense of a song and dance number but back to poignant shared looks while she plays and he listens intently.

A simple tale, splendidly told. Ejiofor appears to have stolen Denzel Washington's vocal styling for the role but hey, he's an Englisher and thus doing a grand job. Robbie's an Aussie so equally admirable for her southern twang. Pine couldn't be more all-American if he tried but his performance here is a great reminder of his genuine acting abilities for anyone who thinks the cartoonish requirements of portraying Captain James T. Kirk are the extent of his range.

While the storyline itself is no great cerebral challenge the performances ensure the film stays in the memory and the characters lodge themselves into the viewer's heart. More expert scripture-readers than I will be able to tell you what the significance of the title actually is.

Exodus: Gods And Kings

Ridley 'Diddley' Scott does epic. Like proper Biblical epic like he's eaten the ghost of Cecil B. DeMille or something. But why the subtitle? Given that Judaic scripture forms part of most of the major religions of the world to some extent or other does the story of Exodus need subtitling? Are we likely to expect it to be a biopic of Bob Marley without the addendum 'Gods and Kings'?

The soundtrack is entirely lacking in skanking guitars but replete with often solitary violins propping up Christian Bale's strange accent whenever we might be in danger of wondering why a Welshman has been cast to play a Middle Eastern man. Or when Egyptians mingled with Australians to cast Pharoahs.

Whitewashing is, of course, a Hollywood tradition. Just ask Scarlett Johannson. And Al Jolson.

Anyhoop, the casting is the least of this film's problems. When an atheist willingly directs a movie depicting one of the seminal tales from the Old Testament then takes liberties with the original text it's a safe bet that large numbers of the potential audience will find fault with the result. As will non-religious viewers who were hoping for something less creaky with better dialogue and fewer holes in the plot.

Marauding crocodiles gets the best of the action, all scenes with chariot in them smack of desperately trying not to evoke Ben Hur, there is actually only one god represented - contrary to the superfluous subtitle - and he's portrayed as a somewhat stroppy pre-adolescent whom only Moses can see. It's hardly in the same league as Blade Runner, is it Ridley?

I do hope nobody decides to butcher the story of Noah in this cavalier fashion just to make cinema seem deep and meaningful. Oh wait, Aronofsky already has.