There are a few flashbacks to the Beagle and a couple of quotes of the more flowery passages of "The Origin of Species," but for the most part, certainly as far as screen time is concerned, it's the story of Charles Darwin (Bettany) and his wife Emma (Connelly) struggling to come to terms with the illness and death of Bettany's favorite daughter, the 10-year-old Anna (West).
There are repeated lengthy scenes of both Bettany and West taking various medicines and other cures, such as hydrotherapy and having your water drawn from you. There is a discussion of whether West should be bled. In fact, what we learn about medical practice circa 1850 is at least as interesting as what we learn about natural selection and evolution. There is a scene involving Bettany and his hydrotherapist in which the hydrotherapist, drawing on de Quincy's "Confessions of an Opium Eater," tells Bettany that a person can hold certain beliefs without being aware of them, and that these stifled ideas can cause warts and fainting spells. Bettany seems interested and willing to discuss the possibility but it goes no farther. Freud wasn't born yet, quite, but he and Breuer would have called this the beginning of "the talking cure." There is a running problem with theology too. Will Bettany "destroy God?" Given today's Zeitgeist, it turns out to have been a pretty silly question. Some of us are still trying to shed ourselves of evolution. But Bettany's problem is personal as well. Why did his beloved daughter Annie die? His minister friend can only assure him that God moves in mysterious ways. Man, is he right about that! There are some gruesome moments when we see part of a dead cow gobbled up by maggots, the maggots eaten by a bird, and the bird's offspring eaten by maggots. It's all in fast motion but revolting nonetheless. I suppose it's necessary to spell out the "web of life" business, but the maggots screech while they go about their business and sticky, gloppy sounds accompany them, all of which adds to the yuk factor without telling us a thing.
The movie collapses in the last third. It's all about the estrangement of Bettany from Connolly. They don't sleep together. They don't even speak. Finally, in the grand climax, Bettany confronts Connolly and accuses her of blaming him for the death of Annie. Connolly begins to tear up and confesses that she blames HERSELF for the death of her daughter. (Sob.) Bettany's involvement in the scientific community of his day is given short shrift. Thomas Huxley, known as "Darwin's Bulldog", shows up for a minute or two in the form of an angry gnome, Toby Jones, who browbeats the hero. There is the 20-page letter from A. R. Wallace who was studying beetles in Southeast Asia and promptly came up with the idea of evolution and natural selection, while back in England Bettany fretted for twenty years over his manuscript, too sick and scared to finish and publish it. Wallace gave him the necessary kick in the pants.
The historical reality is exciting. The movie is kind of dull. It panders to fans of soap opera. And it cheats because, for all the talk of unconscious motives and whatnot, the misunderstanding that separates Bettany and his wife is cleared up with a bit of frank talk in two minutes. There are a couple of lighter moments, near the beginning, some nice location shooting and attention to period detail.
There are repeated lengthy scenes of both Bettany and West taking various medicines and other cures, such as hydrotherapy and having your water drawn from you. There is a discussion of whether West should be bled. In fact, what we learn about medical practice circa 1850 is at least as interesting as what we learn about natural selection and evolution. There is a scene involving Bettany and his hydrotherapist in which the hydrotherapist, drawing on de Quincy's "Confessions of an Opium Eater," tells Bettany that a person can hold certain beliefs without being aware of them, and that these stifled ideas can cause warts and fainting spells. Bettany seems interested and willing to discuss the possibility but it goes no farther. Freud wasn't born yet, quite, but he and Breuer would have called this the beginning of "the talking cure." There is a running problem with theology too. Will Bettany "destroy God?" Given today's Zeitgeist, it turns out to have been a pretty silly question. Some of us are still trying to shed ourselves of evolution. But Bettany's problem is personal as well. Why did his beloved daughter Annie die? His minister friend can only assure him that God moves in mysterious ways. Man, is he right about that! There are some gruesome moments when we see part of a dead cow gobbled up by maggots, the maggots eaten by a bird, and the bird's offspring eaten by maggots. It's all in fast motion but revolting nonetheless. I suppose it's necessary to spell out the "web of life" business, but the maggots screech while they go about their business and sticky, gloppy sounds accompany them, all of which adds to the yuk factor without telling us a thing.
The movie collapses in the last third. It's all about the estrangement of Bettany from Connolly. They don't sleep together. They don't even speak. Finally, in the grand climax, Bettany confronts Connolly and accuses her of blaming him for the death of Annie. Connolly begins to tear up and confesses that she blames HERSELF for the death of her daughter. (Sob.) Bettany's involvement in the scientific community of his day is given short shrift. Thomas Huxley, known as "Darwin's Bulldog", shows up for a minute or two in the form of an angry gnome, Toby Jones, who browbeats the hero. There is the 20-page letter from A. R. Wallace who was studying beetles in Southeast Asia and promptly came up with the idea of evolution and natural selection, while back in England Bettany fretted for twenty years over his manuscript, too sick and scared to finish and publish it. Wallace gave him the necessary kick in the pants.
The historical reality is exciting. The movie is kind of dull. It panders to fans of soap opera. And it cheats because, for all the talk of unconscious motives and whatnot, the misunderstanding that separates Bettany and his wife is cleared up with a bit of frank talk in two minutes. There are a couple of lighter moments, near the beginning, some nice location shooting and attention to period detail.