Creation (2009/I)

Director:

Jon Amiel

Writers:

John Collee (screenplay)
Randal Keynes (biography)

Release Date:

22 January 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

How he saw the world changed it forever

Plot:

English naturalist Charles Darwin struggles to find a balance between his revolutionary theories on evolution and the relationship with religious wife, whose faith contradicts his work.

Plot Keywords:

Charles Darwin | Evolution | Scientist | Country House | 1850s

Cast

Jennifer Connelly	...	Emma Darwin
Paul Bettany	...	Charles Darwin
Jeremy Northam	...	Reverend Innes
Toby Jones	...	Thomas Huxley
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Joseph Hooker
Jim Carter	...	Parslow
Teresa Churcher	...	Mrs. Davies
Zak Davies	...	Jemmy Buttons
Harrison Sansostri	...	Lenny Darwin
Martha West	...	Annie Darwin
Pauline Stone	...	Mrs. Darwin's Maid
Christopher Dunkin	...	George Darwin

Directed by
Jon Amiel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Collee		screenplay
Randal Keynes		biography

Produced by
Janice Eymann	....	executive producer
Jamie Laurenson	....	executive producer
Nick O'Hagan	....	co-producer
Jeremy Thomas	....	producer
David M. Thompson	....	executive producer
Tom Waller	....	line producer: Thailand
Peter Watson	....	executive producer
Christina Yao	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Christopher Young

Cinematography by
Jess Hall

Film Editing by
Melanie Oliver

Casting by
Celestia Fox

Production Design by
Laurence Dorman

Art Direction by
Bill Crutcher		(supervising art director)
Pongnarin Jonghawklang		(segment)
Gary Jopling
Stuart Rose

Set Decoration by
Dominic Capon

Costume Design by
Louise Stjernsward

Makeup Department
Francesco Alberico	....	hair stylist
Ashley Johnson	....	makeup artist
Heather Manson	....	makeup trainee
Julia Vernon	....	crowd hair supervisor
Julia Vernon	....	crowd makeup supervisor
Jo Wand	....	makeup artist: dailies

Production Management
Layla Blackman	....	post-production supervisor (as Layla Evans)
Sara Desmond	....	production manager
Oscar Kahar	....	production supervisor: Thailand

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Desho Bernard	....	first assistant director: Thailand
Glen Carroll	....	crowd assistant director
James Chambers	....	additional assistant director: dailies
Simon Downes	....	key second assistant director
Henry Forsyth	....	assistant director
Sarah Grohnert	....	dggb trainee director
Alex Kaye-Besley	....	third assistant director
Tiziano Niero	....	assistant director runner
Mick Ward	....	first assistant director
Chanida 'Chompoo' Yasiri	....	second assistant director: Thailand

Art Department
Giles Asbury	....	storyboard artist
Will Ayers	....	props
Lawrie Ayres	....	dressing prop
Will Ayres	....	dressing prop
Noel Cowell	....	property master
Quentin Davies	....	props storeman
Kevin Day	....	stand-by
Sarah Forbes	....	prop buyer
Felicity Hickson	....	graphic artist
Tara Ilsley	....	art department assistant
Martin Kane	....	props
Lisa McDiarmid	....	stand-by art director
Kathryn Pyle	....	production buyer
James Wakefield	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Nick Adams	....	co-supervising sound editor
Jovan Ajder	....	adr mixer
Chris Burdon	....	sound re-recording mixer
Doug Cooper	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nick Del-Molino	....	mixing assistant
Rick Gould	....	adr recordist
Charlotte Gray	....	sound assistant
Tim Hands	....	supervising sound editor
Sue Harding	....	foley artist
Alex Joseph	....	foley supervisor
Srdjan Kurpjel	....	sound effects editor
John Midgley	....	sound
Martin Seeley	....	sound mixer: second unit

Special Effects by
Neal Champion	....	special effects supervisor (2008)
Bernard Newton	....	special effects technician
Scott Peters	....	special effects technician
Nick P. Phillips	....	special effects supervisor
Cliff Wallace	....	creature effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor	....	vfx executive producer: Machine
Louie Alexander	....	digital compositor: Framestore
Matthew Baker	....	retouch and restoration: Framestore
Praveen Bareria	....	digital compositor
Zachary Bloom	....	scanning and recording: Framestore
Warwick Campbell	....	digital compositor
Matthew Collorafice	....	lead compositor
Keith Devlin	....	2d supervisor: Machine
Richard Edwards	....	digital intermediate data operator
Bruno Fernandes	....	digital compositor: Machine FX
Christina Graff	....	visual effects producer: Crazy Horse Effects
Paul Graff	....	visual effects supervisor: Crazy Horse Effects
Charlie Habanananda	....	conform editor
Andrew Harvey	....	digital intermediate retouch
Karsten Hecker	....	film mastering engineer
Jan Hogevold	....	executive producer: framestore di
Tom Kimberley	....	digital compositor: Machine FX
John Lockwood	....	visual effects supervisor: Machine
James Long	....	digital intermediate data operator
Veronica Marcano	....	scanning & recording operator: Framestore
Standish Millennas	....	visual effects producer: Machine
Adam Parker	....	retouch and restoration: Framestore
Chandrasekhar Reddy	....	visual effects compositor
James Reed	....	scanning and recording
Gavin Round	....	DI producer: Framestore
Jimmy Saul	....	scanning and recording manager
Asa Shoul	....	digital colourist
David Sjodin	....	compositor
Steve Street	....	visual effects supervisor: Machine

Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Balogh	....	assistant camera
Jacob Barrie	....	second assistant camera: dailies
Ashley Bond	....	focus puller: 'a' camera
Rob Gilmour	....	clapper loader: dailies
Rawdon Hayne	....	first assistant camera
Alice Hobden	....	second assistant camera
Andy Hopkins	....	key grip
Chris McAleese	....	additional clapper loader
Jennie Paddon	....	first assistant camera
Phineas Page	....	video assist
Peter Robertson	....	"a" camera operator/steadicam
Paul Sharp	....	best boy
Axel Ulrich	....	assistant camera
Lee Walters	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Cara Beckinsale	....	casting assistant
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathryn Blight	....	wardrobe mistress
Nigel Egerton	....	wardrobe supervisor
Stephen Kill	....	leather worker
Kunza	....	corsetiere
Joanne Mosley	....	costume assistant
Timothy Shanahan	....	dyer/ager

Editorial Department
Wayne Jones	....	negative cutter
Clive Noakes	....	laboratory contact: DeLuxe London
Brenna Rangott	....	first assistant editor
Mark Wright	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Adam Barber	....	music programmer: score
Peter Bateman	....	orchestrator
Richard Bronskill	....	supervising orchestrator
Steve Davis	....	midi transcriptions
Peter Fuchs	....	score mixer
Benoit Grey	....	orchestrator
Tony Lewis	....	music editor
Sean McMahon	....	orchestrator
Thomas Milano	....	supervising music editor
Flavio Motalla	....	score producer
Joohyun Park	....	musician
Joohyun Park	....	orchestrator
Andrew Spence	....	orchestrator: score programming
Jonathan Timpe	....	score programmer
J. Tyler Timpe	....	score programmer assistant
Brandon K. Verrett	....	orchestrator
Sunna Wehrmeijer	....	score coordinator
Ugo Derouard	....	music recording engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Alan Canty	....	driver: Paul Bettany
Jeff Hudson	....	unit driver
Barrie Williams	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Carolyn Allen	....	tutor
Hannah Andrews	....	production secretary
Kittipat Boonvanno	....	location manager: Thailand unit
Duncan Broadfoot	....	unit manager
Daniel Budd	....	assistant accountant
David Coupland	....	key production runner
Sara Curran	....	business affairs consultant
Devis Damonte	....	assistant: director
Rebecca Davis	....	additional assistant location manager
Tina Falcone	....	assistant accountant
Sue Field	....	script supervisor
Andy Garner	....	creature effects sculptor/puppeteer
Poppy Gordon-Clark	....	assistant location manager
Ella Harris	....	floor runner/stand in
Tim Haslam	....	head of worldwide sales
Rachel James	....	post production accountant
Matt Jones	....	assistant location manager
Rachel Kennedy	....	unit publicist
Alainée Kent	....	development executive
Rachel King	....	unit nurse
Erin Lander	....	floor runner
Jamie Lengyel	....	location manager
Richard Mansell	....	business affairs
Barry May-Leybourne	....	health & safety officer
Daniel McAuley-Burnett	....	floor runner/stand in
John Miles	....	production accountant
Philie Naughten	....	production coordinator
Lindsey Powell	....	location assistant
Samavee Pummoung	....	animal department coordinator: Thailand unit
Ian Robinson	....	laboratory contact: DeLuxe London
Somboon Vichaisre	....	production assistant: Thailand unit
Julia Wilson Dickson	....	dialect coach: Jennifer Connelly (as Julia Wilson-Dixon)
Trish Wylie	....	assistant production coordinator
Bruno Cassoni	....	locations daily (uncredited)
Darren Helman	....	location support (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
• BBC Films
• HanWay Films
• Ocean Pictures
• UK Film Council (support)

Distributors

• HanWay Films (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2010) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• D Films (2010) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2010) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2009) (UK) (theatrical)
• Newmarket Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2009) (Gibraltar) (all media)

Special Effects

• Crazy Horse Effects (visual effects)
• Fugitive Studios
• Machine (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Premier PR  publicity (UK)
• Ace Film Catering  unit catering
• Allan Chapman & James Insurance Brokers  insurance services
• De Lane Lea  sound re-recording
• De Warrenne Pictures  production services by (Thailand unit)
• Digital Vortechs  Avid Editing Equipment Provided By
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Kodak  motion picture film supplier
• Location Solutions South West  location services
• Mediacom 24-7  accommodation
• Midnight Digital  Dailies
• Panalux  film lighting
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by
• Rightway Film Services  negative cutting
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services

Also Known As:

Annie's Box (International: English title) (working title)
Nature (International: English title) (working title)
Origin (USA) (working title)
Untitled Charles Darwin Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense thematic material.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #45781)

Filming Locations:

Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England, UK

Company:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC)

Trivia:

Charles Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. They had ten children together.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Emma Darwin: Do you not care that you and I may be separated for all eternity?

Paul Bettany creates Charles Darwin

From the moment Paul Bettany blazes onto the screen in Jon Amiel's newest film Creation, I am hypnotized as this is his most powerful performance of his career. Charles Darwin, the famous scientist who came up with, which many consider the most profound and anti-religious vision of our existence, is portrayed more charismatic and tender than one would have thought. This is probably due to Bettany's stunning portrayal of the colorfully warm and devoted father and husband.

The controversial book "On the Origin of Species" by Darwin depicts nature as a constant battle, a fight that is constant and ever-evolving. The film, however, doesn't focus on the book as it does with the battle in Darwin's heart. The film takes place very early in Darwin's life. He's not the old, grey-bearded man that we learned of in our Science classes. He's vigorous, full of life, and shows much promise for his career and life for his family. He's married to his wife Emma (played by Jennifer Connelly) and has four children; Darwin couldn't have life any better. But it is the loss of one of his children that ails the man's health, both physically and mentally. The grief weighs so heavily on his heart that the Darwin that had once been a devoted family man has transformed into an emotionally unavailable and vacant body.

Director Amiel, in his best work to date I might add, and writer John Collee adapt this tale from the book "Annie's Box" by Randal Keynes. The narrative isn't always engaging and paced well. The film moves slowly and plays like a psychological thriller at times bringing tension and haunting moments. The problem with this is that it takes a turn to psych-thriller mid-story, so what we thought is a biographical film touched on by high hitting drama, takes a sharp left and becomes almost a horror film.

Technically, the film is quite exquisite. Stunning art direction by Laurence Dorman places us in the early 1800's. Darwin's residence is quite the striking eye-candy. Costume designer Louise Stjernsward and make-up designer Veronica McAleer provide the perfect combination, especially to Bettany, to connect the viewer to a particular time in history. The highlight of the picture,however, aside from the star-turn, is the boisterous score by Christopher Young. In his best musical work to date, Young offers many missing qualities to pull us through the film. When it's downtime in Creation, Young's score often makes up and detonates beautiful strings and percussion.

The rest of the cast does some solid work for themselves. Bettany's real-life partner Jennifer Connelly takes on the role of Emma Darwin with full force. She works the room with Emma's engraved yet subtle pain for the loss of her daughter and the constant anxiety for her husband's health. I'm afraid it's the underdevelopment of her character that doesn't allow her to run with the role. To top it off, any time she shares the screen with her husband, she is completely upstaged and nearly invisible. The screen debut of Martha West, who plays Annie Darwin, Charles and Emma's dead daughter who haunts him as life goes on without her, gives an incomparable performance, probably the best child performance of the year. It is West who is given the best lines, emotion, and development of all the supporting players. She will be an outstanding talent to keep an eye on in the future. Toby Jones (Infamous), Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement), and Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park) all do work respectively.

In the end, when walking out of the theater, you take Paul Bettany's harrowing work with you. Incredibly impressive and stands a fair shot at awards consideration, at least worth the consideration, due to the stacked Best Actor race this year. The film however, doesn't warrant any real hard-hitting drama. The film takes a safe and soft route which offers nothing new to the realm of biopics. Its results are simple moments that do not mirror the qualities a good film.

**½/****