The war tore a hole in the sky, and most of humanity perished
in the harsh sunlight. Now one man trudges West, perhaps
the last man on Earth to actually have a sense of purpose
…as long as his iPod still works.
While that little detail in The Book of Eli seems
a little ridiculous, it's actually such touches that lighten
up what is an otherwise extremely bleak story. Not that
the end of the civilization should be particularly funny,
but under the direction of the Hughes Brothers, it's rarely
been so beautiful though barren.
That really stands out on the blu-ray DVD release coming
out this week. Bleached in hue but crisp in transfer, the
imagery really pops - and there's no doubt that the brother
directorial team compose purposeful pictures. Their use
of contrast makes the extreme violence of the film almost
tasteful; much is suggested, not shown, but you feel like
you've seen more if only because of the aftermath.
So The Book of Eli turns out to be lush in its
visuals, but actually a little sparse in its story. If Clint
Eastwood's Man with No Name had survived the apocalypse
and been Denzel Washington, this might be his movie. Eli
(Washington) clearly borrows a lot from that earlier character,
but his eyes are sad, not hard like Eastwoods's.
Yet you've seen it in other forms before. A stranger wanders
into town, one run by the vicious boss Carnegie (Gary Oldman),
who maintains the barest veneer of civilization. Carnegie
sends his thugs out through the wastelands looking for books.
Not just any book, of course, but THE book, the one that can
bend people to its purpose - and the purpose of its holder
- by the sheer power and hope offered by its words.
Allegedly all copies of that book were burned by the survivors,
and further hindering Carnegie's search is that no one in
his town seems to actually be literate. They wouldn't know
it if they saw it.
With a light dusting of Fahrenheit 451, this post-apocalyptic
Western still has a lot going for it. Though slow paced,
the story has a few touches that keep it fairly compelling.
It also has subtle character work, not quite spelling out
whenever someone makes a realization about what's going
on, as well as allowing actors to breathe without chewing
scenery.
Jennifer Beals does some nice work as Mila Kunis' blind mother.
Though Kunis' character Solara makes a few big leaps along
her arc, the actress still anchors it well. Even Oldman seems
restrained in a role that he could have easily gone over the
top (though he does, admittedly, hover closely).
Warner Brothers offers this blu-ray package with a regular
DVD and digital copy. For reasons of time, I focused on
the blu-ray, which in addition to a great transfer has a
pretty sharp sound mix. It's become my habit to watch with
headphones on, which allow me to pick up a lot more subtleties
on the soundtrack. That's not just in the sound mix, but
in a hauntingly effective score by Atticus Ross.
The blu-ray also includes what the Hughes Brothers call a
"graphic novel" prequel; really, it's a motion comic. With
panels by Tommy Lee Edwards (Turf), the prequel delves
into Carnegie's childhood, and it's a beautiful piece of work
that I do understand might not have been as powerful without
the animation. Still, let's call it what it is.
Their hearts are in the right place, though, and the other
extras on the disc are interesting, both in getting into
the actors' heads and the inspiration for screenwriter Gary
Whitta, who may have read the graphic novel Just a Pilgrim,
but makes it a lot more palatable.
Though it's yet another movie that tells us society will
break down pretty quickly in the wake of disaster, The
Book of Eli offers a message of hope that still leaves
us to find the answer we choose.
