Somewhere between the sacred and profane, comedy, drama and satire comes 鈥淭he Book of Clarence,鈥� a retelling of The Greatest Story Ever Told that arrives in theaters appropriately between Christmas and Easter.
It鈥檚 a remarkably idiosyncratic approach by , who for this Biblical-era tale is director, producer, writer and composer for only his second feature. You have to kind of hand it to him: Who else would have the audacity to tackle Jesus in your second outing?
鈥� 鈥� with a stunning cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, James McAvoy, Anna Diop, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfre Woodard and David Oyelowo 鈥� careens through tones and sentiment, silly in one and then horrific in another. Samuel says he wants viewers to have a 鈥渨icked good time鈥� but really it鈥檚 a bit of a muddled, unholy mess.
It is 33 AD in Jerusalem and Stanfield plays Clarence, a street hustler in robes who likes getting high 鈥� in one cool, surreal scene he floats into the air like a balloon 鈥� and dreams up schemes to get rich quick. He鈥檚 got the hots for a local beauty but owes a ton of coins to that beauty鈥檚 loansharking brother.
Clarence is called the 鈥渧illage鈥檚 mischief maker鈥� and even his mother thinks he needs to get his act together. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a nobody,鈥� he tells his twin brother, Thomas (also Stanfield, naturally). 鈥淎 man who lacks honor is a nobody,鈥� his brother replies. We know things are going to end painfully for Clarence because one of the first images in the movie is of him on a cross.
Clarence doesn鈥檛 believe in God and certainly doesn鈥檛 believe that the local guy named Jesus is capable of miracles. It鈥檚 a scam to him. He tries to become a 13th apostle to pay off his debts. When that fails he decides to pretend to be a messiah, too, and get paid for so-called tricks.
Samuel, whose previous movie was the all-Black Western has some creative ideas, like using a chariot race to honor both 鈥淏en Hur鈥� and 鈥淔ast & Furious,鈥� as well as wonderfully capturing the Last Supper like a painting come alive. He apes biblical epics in his title fonts and the opening and closing of the camera鈥檚 iris. He mixes stilted language 鈥� 鈥淚 must make haste鈥� 鈥� with modern turns (鈥淚鈥檝e got the cobblestones on lock.鈥�) This is the first Biblical epic to uses the term 鈥渄umbass.鈥�
But Samuel never stays with any idea for long and 鈥淭he Book of Clarence鈥� lacks cohesion, as well as consistency, even if the acting is superb, especially from a soulful Stanfield. Is Samuel honoring sword-and-sandal epics? Updating them? Mocking them? Looking at the Jesus story through a Black lens is immensely rewarding but the pay-off is poor.
There are plenty of messiahs here 鈥� like Spider-Mans in the multiverse 鈥� but it is not clear what the filmmaker wants to say with them. A critique of celebrity? A message about entertainment? That faith comes even to those who have none? That we kill all our saviors? It鈥檚 not even clear if this is a pro- or anti-religious movie.
Samuel comments powerfully on us today when white Roman police stop-and-frisk Black Jerusalem residents, but then wastes such a great potential vein to mine with a swanky dance party and cool choreographed moves. He makes us shudder as nails are pounded into Clarence鈥檚 flesh, yet also includes humor at the crucifixion 鈥� from the actual guys doing the dying. He has a scene with brutal rock throwing and yet also a recurring goofy bit about light bulbs appearing over Clarence鈥檚 head.
It鈥檚 a mind-melting piece of filmmaking, having elements of both Monty Python鈥檚 鈥淟ife of Brian鈥� and 鈥淭he Ten Commandments.鈥� (Fun fact, the Italian city of Matera stands in for Jerusalem here and was also where 鈥淭he Passion of the Christ鈥� was filmed.) Add to that an exciting soundtrack of more than a dozen songs by Samuel (even on the movie) and 鈥淭he Book of Clarence鈥� is worth a look simply for its sheer daring. But we wouldn鈥檛 go so far as to say its creator walks on water.
鈥淭he Book of Clarence,鈥� a Columbia Pictures/Legendary Entertainment release that hits theaters Jan. 12, is rated PG-13 for 鈥渟trong violence, drug use, strong language, some suggestive material and smoking.鈥� Running time: 136 minutes. Two stars out of four.
