I loved this bio-pic of Charles Darwin (Jack liked it, too) about the time before he published The Origin of Species, with Paul Bettany as Darwin and his real-life wife Jennifer Connelly as his wife Emma. As I've said before, Bettany was so appealing in Wimbedon (2004) that I'm glad to see him playing a good guy again (after The Da Vinci Code (2006) and The Secret Life of Bees, among others). Good makeup and wigs helped transform him into an ill, balding Darwin, the dedicated scientist and family man. Like in Kinsey (2004), the scientist is easily fascinated by the natural world, and we particularly liked the adorable orangutan Jenny. Connelly (about whom I wrote in He's Just Not That Into You, but didn't mention that Bettany had a supporting role in A Beautiful Mind (2001), for which she won her Oscar) was good, Toby Jones (I left out The Painted Veil (2006) when I wrote about him in Frost/Nixon) has an important cameo as Thomas Huxley (grandfather of Aldous), and little Martha West (daughter of Dominic West (28 Days (2000), HBO's The Wire)) is wonderful as Annie. The movie does jump around a bit in time, but you can figure out when each scene is by the color or lack of it in Bettany's face. In light of recent controversies between "creationists" and scientists, Darwin's own conflicts between the church, his wife, and his studies are practically modern. Recommended.
Whew! I'm finally up to date after a week away at the beach. Time to go back to the movies!
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