The Book of Eli

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Westerns

If "Fallout" Were a Western *spoiler warning*

"The Book of Eli" is a very rare thing. Here you have a post-apocalyptic movie about hope instead of despair, in which hope is purveyed through the preservation of a relic most of today's corrupt intelligentsia would be all too glad to burn. Here you have a Western that does not dwell on righteous violence (though there is plenty), vengeance or getting the girl, but on themes few Westerns would touch, let alone dwell on. Denzel Washington took a risk here, and while it is nowhere near the level of risk Mel Gibson took on in 2004, the fact that he did and did so rather well deserves some commendation.

Craftsmanship

Watching Denzel Washington's "Eli" walk long desolate roads was like reliving those long hours playing Fallout 3. The husks of cars, the occasional roadkill and cannibals in ambush all feel like they came straight out of Fallout. Even the dirty, dust-colored wash that pervades all the scenes feel like they came straight out of post-apocalyptic videogame convention. This is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I think that Westerns, with their ghost towns and dust-colored pastiche, have had a greater influence on post-apocalyptic imagination than they are given credit for. In any case, the world of Eli mimics the tone of the movie's premise. To dust we all came, and to dust shall it all return.

Plot
I must confess to having sympathy for the premise. If, after the end of civilization there is but one Bible left, I cannot think of a relic more worth preserving. As to the novelty of having a Hollywood movie depict the Bible as worth risking life for, I find it a breath of fresh air. "Book of Eli" starts off rather fast, but is punctuated by some awesome fight scenes. (Eli under the bridge, fighting in silhouette, was particularly cool.) But, once the plot gets rolling, the pace slows down to allow the audience time to get to know the characters and their motivations. When the action gets going again, the sense of urgency is heightened in every proceeding scene, topped off by Eli seemingly executed in the backyard cemetery of a cannibal couple. Here, one gets the notion of the main character as divinely protected, as he survives long enough to make it to his destination long after the bad guys think they've won. The movie's surprise twist, unlike most surprise twists, are central to the point of the movie, and provides for a satisfying punctuation mark. Unfortunately, the denoument is slow in the unravelling, culminating in a cutesy Solara (Mila Kunis) trying on the Road Warrior get up to continue spreading the Word back home. Where "Unforgiven" was a rebuke of the heroic violence of the Western, "Book of Eli" is a rebuke of the nihilism of "Unforgiven" and its descendants.

Performances
Denzel Washington always delivers, and this time out is no exception. Gary Oldman shows the range that allows him to play so many different roles in his career. Mila Kunis is the odd woman out. She is the youngest of the main cast, and she cannot seem to shed the wide-eyed cuteness that made her so popular in "That 70's Show". However, rather than being a disadvantage, it allows her to stand out amongst the giants she has to work with, and provides a stunning contrast of innocence with such a desolate and unforgiving landscape.

Overall, this movie will probably not get much notice beyond its screen run, and its a shame. The movie is a credit to Westerns in general, and should have a place in the canon of the genre. It is an exploration of the Western on the opposite end of the spectrum from "Unforgiven", and deserves a hearing for the case it makes.