The Book of Clarence (2024 oddball biblical epic)

[Mister Six]

Here's an odd one: a biblical epic starring LaKeith Stanfield (twice), James McAvoy and Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by Seal's brother Jaymes Samuel (of The Harder They Fall fame) that has had absolutely no recognition at all, as far as I can tell.

But it's quite fun!

It vanished almost immediately after it entered cinemas here in New York, but the film was probably always doomed to fail in the US. For the most part, white Christians don't want to see a black Jesus, black Christians don't want to watch anything that might seem even slightly blasphemous, and non-Christians aren't in the market for a Biblical film. Shame!

LaKeith Stanfield - one of the most watchable actors doing the rounds today - plays Clarence, brother of the Apostle Thomas (whom he also plays) and a petty crook who doesn't believe in God. When he's given 30 days to raise a fortune and pay off a local crime lord, he decides to become an apostle - then the "real" messiah - to keep the boss at bay.

Even as an atheist, I thought this was a lot of fun. Overlong, maybe, and kind of wobbly in places, but it has tons of charm, and full of fantastic visuals; Samuel really can shoot the shit out of a movie.

It's definitely a Christian film - there's no doubt here that Jesus is walking around the place doing miracles while Clarence gets into his capers - but it's from the "Hey, let's all be forgiving and understanding and try to do better" school of Christianity than the rabidly mental fire and brimstone one, which will hopefully make it more palatable to those that object. And while it takes Jesus himself seriously, the tone of the film as a whole (including the depictions of various biblical characters) are all entertaining and larger than life.

All of that said, I'm not quite sure what the point of the film was, really. It obviously doesn't have the satirical angle of The Life of Brian, nor does it bang the believer drum too hard. Maybe it doesn't need a point. Maybe films can just be a laugh?

[13 schoolyards]

This looked interesting (and is "available"), but the Christian angle was a bit of a worry so good to hear it's more about just being entertaining. Like The Bible itself from what I hear

[phantom_power]

Is this a sequel to The Book of Eli? Is it the start of the bible-verse?

[Mister Six]

I think the start of the Bibleverse was probably the Bible.