Last year was a phenomenal time to be a genre fan. There was Moon, District 9, Avatar and even Star Trek to fuel the hunger for fresh and exciting new entries. Now it’s 2010 and things couldn’t be off to a better start. With Daybreakers and now The Book of Eli this is shaping up to be another excellent year. The Book of Eli is unique and original; it may not be perfect, but there’s a level of ambition at work that isn’t seen very often.
Eli (Denzel Washington) is a man on a mission. A mission he’s been on for almost thirty years. He’s heading west in possession of a very important and very powerful book. To him, the only thing that matters is accomplishing the mission he’s been sent on. If someone gets in his way, he’ll of course retaliate with brutality — in other words fight you off with a giant body chopping blade. He’s not interested in saving the ones around him if it causes a sidetrack; he’s only looking out for the book he has. He’s carrying a message of hope. A message that some want to harness for the wrong reasons, that’s where Carnegie (Gary Oldman) comes into play. Once Eli makes his way into a nice quaint run down town he finds himself in even more trouble. What Eli has is what Carnegie has been looking for for many years. It’s a book that will give him the power he wants and to do what he truly believes in. Eli will not give it up and will do so at all costs. This leads to an old fashioned face off between the two. Even Carnegie’s lover’s daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) gets involved, but understandably takes Eli’s side.
In the wrong hands, this story could have been mishandled in the worst way possible. It could have been another standard formulaic action romp, another film that doesn’t live up to its great ambitions and something that we’ve undoubtedly seen before. But it isn’t. There’s a few elements here and there that can be connected to past films of the genre, but luckily the film is aware of that. Far too many films lack a sense of awareness of that what they’re trying to do at times has been done before and don’t even try to make an effort by at least putting their own spin on it. This is one of the keys to The Book of Eli’s success, it’s at least aspiring to do something new. It barely ever divulges into the overused tropes set by previous films– that especially applies to the last twenty minutes.
What happens in the third act won’t be spoiled here, but it’s another factor that breathes audaciousness. There’s a twist that will undoubtedly split audiences and some may downright despise it, but there’s a message there and it’s certainly far from predictable. Without spoiling much, it doesn’t end the way most films similar to this would — i.e. final battle then roll credits. It’s known within the first few minutes that this is different, there’s no pandering narration or the always laughable text appearing onscreen describing the events that took place or how the world became the way it was. It’s the opposite, the first few minutes fully pulls one into the world the Hughes brothers have crafted. Everything you need to learn about the world and Eli’s isolation is cemented in a subtle silent manor.
The second act mostly revolves around the struggle between Carnegie and Eli, which is of course more than fun to watch despite feeling a tad episodic at times. They’re two men who contain the polar opposite set of morals and yet share something in common. They’re both dedicated and believe that what they’re doing is right. It’s an intriguing contrast that doesn’t make the face off come across as the standard good guy vs bad guy scenario. Washington and Oldman unsurprisingly handle the dynamic greatly. Washington perfectly portrays a sense of dedication and the heroism of Eli. Heroism may not be the perfect way to describe Eli though. His mission is priority number one and he won’t go out of his way to help others if it gets in the way of his mission. He doesn’t act all gung-ho, he does his best to stay under the radar. He’s the man with no name or a samurai if you will placed in a post apocalyptic world.
Similar to his classic performance in The Professional, Oldman is menacing and even somewhat likable. He’s a man who is doing terrible things to achieve what he wants, but when he cracks a joke you laugh with him and more importantly he’s an antagonist you can understand. He’s not just evil for the sake of being evil. He’s partially right that the book could help build towns and a society. There’s an underlying goodness there, but he’s ultimately more interested in exploiting that power.
Kunis also handles herself well despite taking a moment or two to warm up. This is a grimy world that embodies savageness, so at first it’s a bit odd seeing someone like Kunis appear. After that, she holds her own with Oldman and Washington. She’s strapped with the challenge of making the usually cliché arc of going from just another person to an action heroine. It’s not an easy transition to portray, but Kunis does it convincingly. She adds a sense of innocence which makes Eli’s transition of going from a man on a mission to someone with a real sense of humanity believable. There’s also an array of fantastic supporting performances worth mentioning from the always wonderful Tom Waits, the intimidating Ray Stevenson and the classy Michael Gambon. They’re unsurprisingly excellent even to the point where you selfishly wish for more of them. Especially with Stevenson who’s a bit underused.
This is a more than welcoming return for the Hughes brothers. Their last film From Hell was slightly overlooked and far more engaging than some would claim, but Eli is unquestionably the superior film. They shot this with the red one and it looks rather stunning. The wide compositions of all the deserted landscapes add an even broader sense of isolation and eeriness. This is a technique that’s been used before, but it’s still none the less effective. The Hughes brothers have always shown a knack for framing and they continue that trait here. Their action choreography especially stands out. They’re all easy to follow, swift and as violent as one would expect. This heavily applies to the first action beat which is done greatly with a single take — clearly inspired by Oldboy.
The Book of Eli is a very good film that will most likely even work better on repeat viewings. If one is fully able to buy into the overall concept of the story then they will find themselves embracing the ambitiousness, the excellent performances and of course the final act.
As a quick final side note: Atticus Ross’s score is terrific.