Entertaining and politically meaningful

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2006)

I'm something of a fan of Howard's films. Even though he is not a brilliant auteur, he rarely disappoints, and always achieves a high level of visual interest and coherence of story line. I figured that the Da Vinci Code would pose little difficulty because as many have pointed out, the book was written as a screenplay.
The showing room was empty when we arrived, ten minutes before the showing, and it didn't fill up very much. The opening weekend may be a Guinness record setter for low opening weekend revenues if last night was any indication. People in the audience were commenting that they had seen few viewers exiting from the 6:45 showing, either.
Well, I am just dim and gullible enough to write a defense of this film, which did not disappoint me. First, it is really an exciting story, packed with surprises even for one who read the book. As one who hopes to spend more time there in years to come, I was excited to see Paris as an implicit character, via the portrayals of the local constabulary (Jean Reno), the ambient sounds of Paris at night, and some wonderful photography of the Louvre. Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, and Ian McKellen are perfectly cast, and I thoroughly enjoyed their performances. I am not an especially big fan of Tom Hanks, but his presence enhanced my appreciation of him. Audrey Tatou is magical.
Had there never been an issue raised about blasphemy; had the film been made from a screenplay and not from a book everybody had read; it might be seen as a triumph of the genre. None of those conditions obtain, however, and this film does make a profound statement about Christianity. No doubt about it. Even though many critics have commented that the message is muted, it is not. The film is unmistakably blasphemous in the eyes of many self-respecting Christians. Which is why I liked it as much as I did. It deals with the issues in such a forthright manner that wider exposure to the ideas would be of great benefit.
Ian McKellen's description if Da Vinci's Last Supper is marvelously convincing, and as myth, his account has the virtue that it explains the historical and corrosive anti-feminism of the Roman Church in a way that requires little further explanation. It is a myth that I can and do embrace.