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CREATIONMovie Reviews
Period drama about Charles Darwin's struggle to reconcile his religious views following the death of his beloved daughter, Annie. . Cast:Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Jones, Jeremy Northam, Benedict CumberbatchDirector:Jon AmielRelease Date:January 22, 2010DVD Release:June 29, 2010From:Newmarket FilmsRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 48 min
JUNE 29, 2010
Creation, Good (Not Great) Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
Creation played in key cities to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...smart, heartfelt, handsome and just mutated enough to sustain interest in a specialized subject... reminds us that art, like life, keeps evolving." • And Emanuel Levy wrote for Cinema 24/7, "...the film is too conventional... it doesn't help that it's done as a domestic melodrama." More Reviews Below...
Leah Rozen, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "Who knew writer's block could be so riveting?... the sweet chemistry between the real-life couple helps bring dry history to vibrant life."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 105 words, 01/21/10
Mary Pols, Time: FAIR "...a doubleheader of misery and melancholy... You'd hope for a display of piercing intelligence from Bettany, but the main impression we get is of physical discomfort."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 805 words, 01/22/10
David Germain, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...reflects that contradictory beliefs can co-exist peaceably... quiet and modest, sparse in action and decked out with classy but unassuming costumes and sets."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 01/20/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a superbly creative exercise for its star... But it's a subdued and meandering portrait of the conflicts underlying the development of the theory of evolution."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 530 words, 01/21/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Jon Amiel tells his story with respect and some restraint, showing how sad and weakened Charles is and yet not ratcheting up his grief into unseemly melodrama."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 876 words, 02/18/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "...conveys the process of composition in the manner of a Gothic horror movie... may well be a truthful portrait, but it is not a convincing or illuminating one."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 01/22/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: VERY GOOD(cg) "Bettany is playful and engaging in his calm moments and gripping in frenzied ones... smart and humane as it often is, it can't keep from devolving into a museum piece."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 01/22/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: FAIR "...suffers from bad plotting.... You can almost see screenwriter John Collee's struggle to adapt the book 'Annie's Box' by one of Darwin's descendants, Randal Keynes."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 737 words, 12/25/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...it's simplistic at best for the film to argue that his daughter's death was the reason Darwin lost faith. 'Origin of Species' is reduced to an episode of cosmic payback..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 362 words, 01/22/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Jon Amiel tells his story with respect and some restraint, showing how sad and weakened Charles is and yet not ratcheting up his grief into unseemly melodrama."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 876 words, 02/18/10
Ernest Hardy, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...its power lies in its layers... it makes distinctions between religion and faith... beautifully lays out the similarities between religion and science..."(See all of Ernest Hardy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 225 words, 01/20/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "What begins as a drama about the birth of a great notion - with its attendant battles between the pro and con sides - instead becomes a dreary melodrama..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 624 words, 01/22/10
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it slides into melodrama. But when the ideas take the spotlight - medical practices of the period, natural science, the death of God - it's fascinating."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 01/21/10
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "Director Jon Amiel labours to make Darwin's chronic procrastination exciting.... ultimately disappointing for the opportunity that has been missed."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 787 words, 01/22/10
KEY CITIES (10 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...descends into highly pitched melodrama and morbid angst. For a movie that clearly seeks to bring Darwin to life, 'Creation' spends an awful lot of time wallowing in death."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 554 words, 01/22/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...moving... announces itself as a chapter in the ongoing epic of science versus religion [but] is more about Darwin, father and husband, than Darwin the scientist."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 514 words, 02/12/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "There are good performances and fleeting moments of exquisite moviemaking, but the experience as a whole is an evolutionary dead end."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 717 words, 01/22/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The film's attempt to depict challenging and thoughtful material is appreciated, even if the results are mixed... it becomes quite moving..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 02/12/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...a case study of natural selection... It cross-pollinates the life story of Charles Darwin with a Lifetime Channel troubled-family potboiler... an evolutionary dead end."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 328 words, 02/12/10
Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Brooding biopic.... Slow-moving and occasionally ponderous in tone, 'Creation' nonetheless is an intriguing portrait of a man and a time that changed everything."(See all of Kerry Lengel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 03/12/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Those wanting a stirring exploration of Darwin's studies will be disappointed but may find many of the film's haunting images hard to shake..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 403 words, 02/19/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...smart, heartfelt, handsome and just mutated enough to sustain interest in a specialized subject... reminds us that art, like life, keeps evolving."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 02/12/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: MODERATE(cg) "...an obviously heartfelt attempt to capture the dilemmas confronting Charles Darwin while he wrote 'The Origin of Species' that takes a wrong turn toward family tragedy."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 344 words, 02/12/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Ernest Hardy, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...its power lies in its layers... it makes distinctions between religion and faith... beautifully lays out the similarities between religion and science..."(See all of Ernest Hardy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 225 words, 01/20/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: MODERATE(cg) "Amiel has reduced a crucial moment in science to a Lifetime weepie about a workaholic who needs personal tragedy to wake him up to his wife's virtues."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 127 words, 01/22/10
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...stiff, stodgy... offered without wit or irony. What a mundane, disappointing comedown from Amiel, maker of the wondrous 'The Singing Detective.' "(See all of Gerald Peary's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 118 words, 01/21/10
Noel Murray, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "...means to apply theories of adaptation on a personal level, but as it turns out, that's a far too narrow lens through which to view an intellectual giant."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 323 words, 01/21/10
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it slides into melodrama. But when the ideas take the spotlight - medical practices of the period, natural science, the death of God - it's fascinating."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 01/21/10
Wyatt Williams, Atlanta Creative Loafing: POOR(cg) "...becomes a field guide to clichéd, melodramatic filmmaking techniques. Does a scene feature 'savages?' Cue tense, rhythmic music... Darwin deserves a stronger film."(See all of Wyatt Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 02/17/10
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: GOOD "Much of this is overwrought, from the score that insists you feel Darwin's pain to Connelly's single task of looking intensely concerned. But it's surprisingly touching..."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 304 words, 01/21/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: VERY GOOD "...sharp central performances... arresting visuals... if the film takes some liberties, they generally make sense dramatically... has ample grace on its side."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 197 seconds, 01/22/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "...conveys the process of composition in the manner of a Gothic horror movie... may well be a truthful portrait, but it is not a convincing or illuminating one."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 01/22/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...movie takes the measure of Darwin's mind during an anguished period of his life by constructing a surreal collage that suggests a severe case of attention deficit disorder."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 255 words, 01/22/10
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: GOOD "...will irritate anyone versed in Darwinism and its dislodging of faith; yet the movie does give fresh energy to another Victorian obsession -- namely, the ghost story."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,167 words, 01/18/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...suffers from bad plotting.... You can almost see screenwriter John Collee's struggle to adapt the book 'Annie's Box' by one of Darwin's descendants, Randal Keynes."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 737 words, 12/25/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Not much 'happens,' though the pic does its best to maintain energy in both physical presentation and mixed-chronology structure. Leads are also a little monotonous..."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 815 words, 09/11/09
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "Thanks to the writing, pacing and Bettany's nuanced performance, it is one of the best delineations of intellectual and emotional struggle seen on film in many a year."(See all of Ray Bennett's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 514 words, 09/09/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...suffers from bad plotting.... You can almost see screenwriter John Collee's struggle to adapt the book 'Annie's Box' by one of Darwin's descendants, Randal Keynes."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 737 words, 12/25/09
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "...the film is too conventional, a fact made more evident by its Masterpiece Theater look, and it doesn't help that it's done as a domestic melodrama."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 887 words, 12/16/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "...conveys the process of composition in the manner of a Gothic horror movie... may well be a truthful portrait, but it is not a convincing or illuminating one."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 01/22/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...movie takes the measure of Darwin's mind during an anguished period of his life by constructing a surreal collage that suggests a severe case of attention deficit disorder."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 255 words, 01/22/10
20.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Creation's reviews are separated by an average 20.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Creation (38 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Creation's reviews cover 89.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,422 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 485 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 17.8 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Creation's reviews on average broke 17.8 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Creation's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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