Movie summary #2 - Creation. Creative Writing Essay

Movie Summary #2 – Creation (2009)
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Movie Summary #2 – Creation (2009)
Summary
The film “Creation”, directed by Jon Amiel and produced by Jeremy Thomas in 2009, features the life of Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) and his relationship with his wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly) as he battles with the memories of their late daughter Annie and the publication of the groundbreaking book, “On the Origin of Species (thecultbox, 2011).” While the death of Annie and the discoveries following the voyage of the Beagle seem to have weakened Darwin’s faith in God, his wife’s belief in a creator of man and the universe is steadfast. Emma is a devout Christian who opposes Darwin’s scientific ideas that pose a threat to Anglican theology. She is worried that she might go to heaven without the company of her husband who opposes religious orthodoxy of his time (French, 2009). In the film, Darwin in his 40s is wracked by anguish and guiltiness over Annie's death, his health and relationship with his wife, and the unavoidable conflict between his scientific discoveries and the religious dogma of the time.
Instead of dwelling on the scientific analysis of the evidence collected by Darwin after his voyage, the film focuses on the capacity and lucidity of Darwin to express his new ideas in his book. There are brief appearances by Darwin’s fellow scientists Thomas Huxley (Toby Jones) and Joseph Dalton Hooker (Benedict Cumberbatch) who encourage him to complete writing the book and publish it (Finneran, 2010). Like Richard Dawkins, a renowned atheist who takes on religious leaders that put faith before science, Huxley thrills many proponents of evolution theory and those who are strongly opposed to religious orthodoxy. For instance, while trying to encourage Darwin to put down his novel scientific ideas into a book, he addresses him saying that he has killed God and when his ideas and science win the war with religion, that would be the end of religious threats of eternal damnation perpetuated by the “damned” archbishops.
Darwin suffers an agonizing situation as he is unable to strike a balance between his evolutionary ideas and the religious beliefs strongly held by his wife. In particular, Annie's death, his relationship with his wife, the deteriorating health, and the conflicting ideas drive Darwin into disarray but is encouraged by his friends to continue writing the book and have it published. Against his wife's will, Darwin takes Annie to Worcestershire town for water therapy but she passes on. Since Annie's death becomes a taboo subject between Darwin and his wife, their relationship gets strained as they stop having their conjugal rights, making him frail and fatigued (Finneran, 2010). Devastated after Annie's death, Darwin's now strongly believes that natural laws occur independently of divine interventions. These convictions, according to his contemporaries, are dangerous as they seem to threaten God’s existence or as Huxley puts it “kill God.”
Despite the dissuasion that holds him back from completing the book, Darwin's friends, Hooker and Huxley, encourage him to finish the writing after reading his 230-page sum...