Does the Noah Screenplay Sink or Float? Chattaway and Godawa Disagree.

“I don’t want to say too much about it here,” says Filmchat film critic Peter Chattaway after reading an early screenplay for Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, “because it seems we’ve all read an earlier draft than the one that was used to make the actual film.”

Nevertheless, in a post of more than 1,700 words, he considers the script’s adaptation of the Biblical story and responds to the critiques delivered by screenwriter Brian Godawa (To End All Wars) and Hitfix film critic Drew “Moriarty” McWeeny. I’ve read those two reactions, but Chattaway — whose work I’ve been reading since the late ’90s — is a critic whose attention to detail is so exacting that I’m always surprised and impressed with his observations. I’ve been waiting for this.

Turns out — Chattaway and Godawa don’t agree.

…while Godawa does make some valid points about the film and its deviations from both scripture and Jewish tradition, there’s a big hole there in his critique of the film and the themes it develops. Or so I would argue, at any rate.

He adds,

Conservative Christian lobbyists like Movieguide founder “Dr.” Ted Baehr have already claimed that the film will be “incredibly redemptive” and “God-centered”, which strikes me as an oversimplification in the exact opposite direction.

Since the release of Pi, Aronofsky’s riveting, mind-bending debut, I’ve been fascinated by Aronofsky. I’ve been rather impressed with some of his films (Pi, Requiem for a Dream… and, of course, The Fountain, for which I interviewed him) and frustrated by others (Black Swan, The Wrestler). But all of these films are interesting and worth discussing. So I’ve been looking forward to seeing Noah. But now, for the first time, I can say I’m excited about the day when we are drawn, two by two (or otherwise), to theaters to see this one for ourselves.