Some Thoughts After Seeing "Noah"

There’s been a lot of tweeting, a lot of Facebooking, a lot of blogging in the last few days about the new “Noah” movie.  A lot of annoyance and outrage from Christians (we are pretty good at that!), and a lot of eye-rolling and snark about the movie quality itself.  Having read many posts and comments before going in, my expectations had been lowered dramatically.  Because of that, I think, I ended up liking the movie more than I thought I would. 

(P.S…I don’t get to movies much anymore, but there seems to have been a massive increase in the number of people who can’t get through a movie without texting several times.  Lit-up faces everywhere.  Seriously…I think that’s the definition of addiction, and seriously, you actually have a problem.)

The Noah story is a tricky one for even the most mature believer.  Those who are at home on the subjects of judgment and righteous anger may accept it easily enough, but for those of us who try to reconcile the idea of a good and loving Father, with a holy God who wiped out virtually all earthly life via drowning, the story is much more challenging.

Much of the annoyance from the Christian camp has been due to the fact that much of the movie’s plot is not found in Scripture, with a few things that are even anti-biblical.  However, beyond the few things with which I genuinely took issue theologically, what is more at play in the movie is the fiction that has been added to embellish the story. 

Potential viewers should know that a good 75% or more of the movie is extra-biblical and completely fantastical.  The actual Noah account in the Bible is quite brief (it is found in Genesis chapters 6-9). In order to fill two-and-a-half hours of cinematic experience, the filmmakers decided to invent elaborate subplots involving a local warlord and his army, various love interests, an increasingly mentally unbalanced Noah, miracle twin sisters, magic seeds left over from the Garden of Eden, and yes, it’s true, fallen angels that inexplicably manifest as massive six-armed rock creatures. 

Some of these storylines caused awkward giggling throughout the theatre – it gets pretty silly at times, to be sure.  The filmmakers have approached the story from the standpoint of an epic myth, rather than trying to create a biblically accurate story.  No doubt many Christians will take issue with this, but really, what did we expect?  It is a secular approach to an Old Testament story, and so it comes across as a secular approach to an Old Testament story.  If it were Christians writing, producing, and directing the movie, that would be different.   But Hollywood has done what Hollywood does, and chosen to tell what it feels is the most entertaining story, that will make the most money.  Its main concern is not biblical faithfulness, nor should we be surprised that this was the case.

Yet, beyond the silliness and all the extra stuff, there were also some great themes and great lines, dealing with subjects such as commitment and trust, uncertainty and doubt, the arrogance and depravity of man, the great struggle of obedience, faith, and the mysterious will of God, the overcoming nature of love, and the messy and sometimes conflicting nature of trying to do what is right.  Noah is flawed, and struggles to obey, even getting it wrong as he tries to figure out what God wants him to do.  There is some good stuff in there – if you can get past the talking rock monsters and Miracle-Gro Eden-seeds.    

The whole time I was watching, I actually thought, “I want to get home and read the actual story in my Bible.”  When I got home, I did, and then I read it again and again.  This is good.  I have also had some real conversations about faith, obedience, and God’s will, all which stemmed from the movie.  This is also good.  If we come into this movie expecting it to be what it is – a fanciful Hollywood take that makes no claims of biblical fidelity – then we can look past the silly, and the extra, and pull some great truths and great conversation-starters out that can enrich us all. 

So yes, by all means, see this movie.  Let it cause believers and unbelievers alike to turn to Scripture to read the actual story.  Let it spur on debates about how a good and loving God could also judge the earth.  Let it launch conversations about obedience, weakness, faith, and how we all struggle to find (and miss) God’s will.

It’s just a movie.  It’s not the Bible.  It’s not a sermon.  It’s just a movie.  Let’s take it for what it is, and let’s pull all the good stuff out of it that we can.