This film tells the story of Charles Darwin's scientific research and journey of faith in advance of publishing his masterwork, On the Origin of Species. As he set out on his scientific studies, he was simply a curious researcher with a strong faith and loving wife. His daughter died tragically in the middle of his studies and he could not square the horrible malady she suffered with his understanding of God or the fact that what he saw on the ground led him to believe that plants and animals developed without divine assistance.
This created a tremendous amount of tension between him and his wife (a woman of unyielding faith), especially as his scientific colleagues were pressuring him to publish his findings after years of struggling with the ramifications.
The film, directed by Jon Amiel (with script from John Collee), is told in a terrible, choppy way, where Darwin's memories of his daughter, his fantasies of her still being alive and his present struggle are all inter cut to make figuring out the narrative mind boggling. It is not clear to me why the script couldn't have been more straightforward. There really isn't anything positive added to the film by this jumpy chronology and it's mostly just frustrating.
Paul Bettany, as Darwin, and Jennifer Connelly, as Mrs. Darwin, are both good in their roles, though it seems almost like they less important than the complicated script. Overall this is a disappointment of a movie. It's interesting from a historical point of view but it's a mess as a viewing experience.
Stars: 1.5 of 4
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