'Book of Eli' interesting but brutal
By Zach Yonk
Staff Writer
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
“The Book of Eli” could be considered Denzel Washington’s most poignant film in a long time, maybe since “Training Day,” and is the Hughes Brothers’ best work since (I’m really going out on a limb here) “Menace II Society.”
The intrigue of “Eli” is found in its stripped-down style, shot over bland desert highways (a reference, of sorts, to “Mad Max”), and broken-down towns. The story is quite a punch, but the lethal vibe of the film, with each scene bringing a brooding sense of danger that is not often felt in movies, is what keeps this movie on the edge.
Set 30 years after some sort of apocalyptic catastrophe, which is alluded to but never fully explained, Washington (imagine Isaac Hayes with a mean-looking sword) stars as Eli, a survivor who is inspired to travel west after reading the last remaining copy of the Bible. He arrives in a broken, dilapidated town, where he encounters Carnegie (a menacing Gary Oldman). Carnegie first tries to persuade Eli to join his outfit, but later menaces him as he tries to obtain Eli’s Bible for himself and build a post-apocalyptic network of towns.
Writer Gary Whitta has created a bleak, pessimistic future society that relies less on capitalism and more on primal instinct, a future where people barter in everything from old radios to KFC wipes, and where literacy means influence. Money has absolutely no clout in “Eli,” which adds to the stripped-down nature of the film. It may sound wildly hokey, but on the screen it holds a strange sort of intrigue. “Eli” is not an easy film to forget.
That being said, “Eli” does have its weaknesses. The pacing is uneven, and aside from the strong performances of Washington and Oldman, the rest of the cast is fairly mediocre. There are a few familiar faces, such as Mila Kunis from “That 70’s Show” and Malcolm McDowell from “A Clockwork Orange,” but they don’t make much of an impression.
The violence will most certainly turn away some viewers, and there are some disturbing moments of sexual assault. One particularly unsettling moment occurs when Eli witnesses a gang of Carnegie’s henchmen attack and rape a woman. Eli chooses not to do anything about it, instead opting to continue his journey. The scene makes sense only as an attempt to prove that Eli’s character is human, and therefore, because he is flawed, he makes bad decisions. Yet it is difficult to forgive Eli for his negligence.
Directors Albert and Allen Hughes do quite well with unfamiliar material, especially considering that nine years have passed since their last film, “From Hell,” was released in 2001. This is only the fourth film they have directed, but they don’t hesitate to put their stamp on it.
One scene in particular, involving Eli washing himself with old fast food wipes while listening to Al Green’s “How Can you Mend a Broken Heart” from a beat-up iPod, is pure Hughes. We get a glimpse of some nasty scars that cover most of Eli’s body, which serve as only a hint as to what sort of catastrophe could have occurred to set the story in motion. This is probably the softest, and most memorable, moment of “Eli;” no guns, no explosions, no splashing blood, just Eli and Al Green.
Then there’s the fact that almost none of the main characters are African American, with the exception of Eli, which isn’t bad, but it certainly speaks to the Hughes’ tendencies, especially with films like “Menace II Society” and “Dead Presidents” under their belts. The Hughes are quite adept at portraying, even subtly, racial tension. One scene where Eli shoos a cat away from Carnegie’s bar, only to have a group of thugs rise upon him and provoke him into action, is an example of such tension.
“The Book of Eli” stands as one of the more interesting (and jarring) films I’ve seen lately, but I would certainly hesitate to classify it as anything more than just good. Then again, it’s hard to justify seeing any movie for $9.25.
Overall rating: 3 stars out of 5.