The Book of Eli
January 30, 2010
To be fair, there are some spoilers here. You have been warned.
I confess that I went into "The Book of Eli" with much uncertainty. The previews seemed to indicate that Eli, the protagonist of the film, had a special book that would create much change in the world. I feared that this would be another one of the pseudepigrapha (read: The Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Peter, etc.).
Additionally, this is a dark film. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The film is gritty, dirty, and (thanks to the filmography) quite literally dark. There were scenes that are gruesome, scenes that aren't at all appropriate, and scenes that will make you squirm with discomfort.
But oh there is a quiet, subtle chord weaving its way through the darkness. Hope blossoming in the wreckage. A quiet flower blooming in the desert wasteland. A good word, nay, THE Good Word, carried on through a single man, divinely inspired to do God's will.
To be sure there were a few points that resonated deep within my soul. Eli claims that the war was started because of the Book, but he was certain that if people had really lived by the Book, it would not have been that way. Later he says that he should have been living by the things the Book taught him, instead of seeking to protect the Book itself.
How applicable, how true, how deeply honest this lonely man doing a prophet's labor for a God who loves His children that had nearly destroyed themselves.
Would I recommend this film? Absolutely. But be warned, it is not a film for the weak hearted. But it is a film for those who want to be awed by how God can work in strange and unexpected ways.