Presenting the story of a struggling “nobody” whose exploits parallel those of Jesus of Nazareth in AD 33, “The Book of Clarence” is less “The Life of Brian” and more a fan-fiction version of the gospels, although the star of the same name of Jeymes Samuel's latest film (played by LaKeith Stanfield) shares the living situation of the protagonist of Monty Python with his mother (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). And, like Brian, he is a "very naughty boy," at least at first.
Unlike Martin Scorsese's "Life of Brian" or "The Last Temptation of Christ," Samuel's reworking of the New Testament is unlikely to offend anyone of Christian faith, other than avowed racists or people who are staunchly opposed to the use of the term “son of a bitch”. By giving the last days of Christ an allegorical and contemporary spin, “The Book of Clarence” is more concerned with entertainment value than delivering a sermon. The results are tonally erratic, but absolutely interesting, to say the least.
Director: Jeymes Samuel
Writer: Jeymes Samuel
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Alfre Woodard
Clarence, who resides in Jerusalem, is not the most spiritual of people and prefers logic to belief. He considers Jesus (Nicholas Pinnock) to be a fraud, although the fact that his twin brother Thomas (also Stanfield) became one of Jesus' 12 apostles when their mother was seriously ill is also a factor driving some of this disdain. . That said, Clarence has some respect for the cult of celebrity that has been built around Jesus and the apostles, and he sees an opportunity to save his own skin and improve his social standing by joining his ranks. Clarence owes a considerable debt to local gangster Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi-Abrefa), while also pining for the same man's sister (Anna Diop), and believing that a religious awakening (or, at least, the introduction of one) will help you. appeal to the spiritual side of the first.
He pities that Clarence can't control his skepticism. His attempt to be baptized provokes a debate and a slap from John the Baptist (David Oyelowo, clearly having fun with his one scene), while Brother Thomas immediately calls out his nonsense when he arrives at the apostles' meeting place, seeking to gain permission from the Jesus absent to join the gang. Instead, Judas Iscariot (Micheal Ward) proposes that Clarence prove his worth by performing an honorable act, or at least that he try. Perhaps then they can know that his intentions in joining were pure, because the quest in question would seem to almost guarantee his demise.
Accompanied by his faithful friends Elijah (RJ Cyler) and Zeke (Caleb McLaughlin), Clarence is sent to free all the gladiators kept under the surveillance of a local slaver (Babs Olusanmokun). Instead of killing him on the spot, the slaver offers a man freedom, as long as Clarence can defeat the gladiator in combat. In the first of the film's several miracles in the face of death, Clarence manages to defeat the burly Barabbas the Immortal who, played by Omar Sy, is the film's most entertaining recurring character: he believes he cannot die, based on the number of times he has survived sword wounds that would have killed anyone else.
The visual construction of their fight and the surrounding dialogue provide the film's most overt nods to Ridley Scott's "Gladiator," though curiously there is a moment that appears to be an allusion to Mel Gibson's "Braveheart," when Barabbas joins in. who quickly becomes the character of Clarence. own group of disciples. Clarence's charlatan goals become more ambitious after another heated conversation with his brother Thomas: “Knowledge is stronger than belief. You believe in God because you don't know anything about the world, that's why you do the shit you do,” he tells the apostle. Clarence decides he will become "the new Messiah," taking steps from Jesus' playbook, only intending to keep the coins donated for him and his comrades.
If this all sounds a little complicated, it absolutely is, and this is just a taste of the first act. The admirably ambitious, though undeniably messy, film is divided into three chapters or “books,” the first being “The Thirteenth Apostle” and the second “The New Messiah.” The title of the third book won't be revealed here, but the film lays out its cards about Clarence's fate in its first shot, zooming in on his face so close you almost expect to hear a record scratch, with Stanfield as narrator saying, "Yeah." , that's me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.” While it sprinkles in comedy and satirical commentary, Samuel's film is too serious to dare employ such a simplistic mission statement from the start.
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