Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

1More Film Blog

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Ridley Scott’s “Exodus”: An Unbeliever’s Perspective

Ridley Scott’s “Exodus”: An Unbeliever’s Perspective

Last updated on: December 13, 2014 at 6:15 pm by Andrew Spitznas

Ridley Scott’s “Exodus”: An Unbeliever’s Perspective 2014-12-13T18:15:46-05:00 Andrew Spitznas

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The first plague strikes Egypt

By striving to appeal to the widest possible demographic, I suspect that veteran director Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings will deeply satisfy no-one. In terms of visual spectacle, Scott surpasses the former gold standard for biblical epics, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments. But like a tasty soufflé, poke Exodus too hard, and you’ll discover a hollow center.

In refusing to begin with the familiar “baby in the bulrushes” episode, Scott’s Exodus starts promisingly. An adult Moses (Christian Bale) and his fraternal contemporary, Rameses (Joel Edgerton), are both ordered by Pharaoh (John Turturro) to fend off an army of invading Hittites. Here, Scott demonstrates that he hasn’t lost his knack for composing excellent action set pieces, as seen in previous films such as Gladiator or Black Hawk Down. Meanwhile, Moses demonstrates his combat prowess and loyalty to Rameses, saving him from certain death.

Christian Bale as Moses

Soon after, Pharaoh departs this life, and his mummification wraps have scarcely dried before Rameses displays his crippling insecurity in the face of Moses’ greater wisdom. Unlike the biblical narrative, where Moses flees Egypt after killing a brutal slaver, in Exodus, Rameses exiles Moses soon after both learn of the latter’s Hebrew heritage.

From this point on, the narrative sequence will be immediately recognizable for those with at least a passing knowledge of the Pentateuch. Most of the high points of the book of Exodus make an appearance: Moses’ sojourn in Midian, the burning bush, Rameses’ stubborn refusal to release the Hebrew slaves, the plagues, and so forth.

Joel Edgerton, an insecure Rameses

And from here onwards, Ridley Scott’s strengths and failures are ever more manifest. On the good side, the attention to culturally distinctive visual minutiae never ceases to impress. I enjoyed taking in the massive Egyptian colonnades and statuary, as well as their fine clothing and headdresses. Just as nifty are the facial tattoos and abundant jewelry of the desert-dwelling Midianites.

The plagues, too, are conveyed inventively and stylishly. Both on a micro scale (closeups of a grasshopper’s head during the plague of locusts, or of the face of a child taking his last breath during the slaughter of the firstborn) and at a macro level (a great aerial view of frenzied crocodiles in the blood-red Nile), these merit the big screen experience.

One of the many impressive vistas in “Exodus: Gods and Kings”

Unfortunately, Exodus’ negatives ultimately drown its positives. In walking through the familiar Bible story paces, Scott and his screenwriters neglect to give us characters in whom we’re invested. So much thespian talent is squandered. Besides the names already mentioned, very good actors such as Aaron Paul (the stalwart Joshua), Ben Kingsley (Joshua’s father Nun), and Sigourney Weaver (Rameses’ maleficent mother) deliver more reaction shots than any words or deeds of substance.

Even when words are spoken, they often feel clunky or anachronistic. Rameses’ weighing the pro’s and con’s of releasing the Hebrews – it would be “economically problematic” – sounds more like an economist on C-Span than an ancient Egyptian ruler. Meanwhile, Moses (who starts the film as a spiritual skeptic) resembles a touchy-feely modern humanist when he tells Rameses that he respects Egyptian soothsayers even if he doesn’t personally believe in them, or when he urges his son to believe in himself rather than a deity allegedly residing atop the Midianites’ sacred mountain.

And now we’ve arrived at the problematic intellectual core of Exodus. Ridley Scott and company contort themselves more than Pokey and Gumby in trying to generate narrative and dialogue that will placate both the godless and true believers, and the result is a contradictory mess.

Depending on the scene, a character might angrily question what sort of god would murder a city’s collection of first-born kids. Elsewhere, masses are commended for unquestioningly following their religious leader’s unreasonable commands. Sometimes, God (curiously visualized in Exodus as a preadolescent boy) comes across as irritable, impatient, and impulsive; elsewhere, he’s smilingly benevolent. Exodus sends up incompatible signals that belief is both a pathological symptom (Moses has his first divine vision immediately after a nasty knock to the noggin) and a virtue (as exemplified by Aaron Paul’s Joshua).

Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for films offering contrasting points-of-view. However, it all needs to eventually cohere meaningfully, and this never happens in Exodus.

I can’t help but notice a similar contradictory quality to Ridley Scott’s public pronouncements about his own spiritual beliefs over the past couple of years. Depending on his interviewer and audience (not to mention which film is being promoted), Scott has described himself as atheist, agnostic, or vague theist. One can interpret such variance as honest struggles with life’s big questions or as cynical pandering to the ticket-purchasing crowd.

Please permit me to conclude this review by pulling back to a slightly larger vantage point. Those interested in religion in film realize that this is the second Pentateuch-based movie of 2014 directed by someone who, at the very least, is not a conventional religious believer. The other film is, of course, Noah, as directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Despite their flaws (I thought Noah reflected a more fertile imagination, though its second half dragged considerably), the main character of each film shares intriguing similarities. Both Noah and Moses are tragically lonely characters striving to obey a peek-a-boo God (now you see or hear him, now you don’t). Both are willing to put their families through torturous extremes: Moses abandons his wife and son in Midian, while Noah chases his family around the ark with homicidal intent. And both cinematic patriarchs appear mentally unhinged by their relationship to the divine.

Moses and his wife Zipporah (Maria Valverde)

Heroes of the Bible as lonely, cruel, and delusional? I can see why believers would resist these cinematic portrayals. Freethinkers, on the other hand, can easily tolerate such liberties with the biblical text, since we agree with the current scholarly consensus that Bible stories are already embellished legends at best. I’m still waiting, however, for an artistically meritorious Bible recasting that can stand proudly with the likes of Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ.

2.5 out of 5 stars

(Parents’ guide: Exodus: Gods and Kings is rated PG-13 due to its violence. Surprisingly, given all the mayhem implied, it’s a nearly bloodless film. I’d be comfortable letting teens see this.)

Exodus: Gods and Kings

Previous Post

December 12, 2014

Free the Nipple (Esco, 2014)

Next Post

December 14, 2014 Welcoming Andrew Spitznas to 1More Film Blog

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did David use to calm Saul when Saul was troubled by a harmful spirit?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Flute Drum Harp Trumpet