Don't leave home without your brain!

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2006)

By Bil Gekas
It is supposed to challenge your faith, shake the foundation of 2000 years of history, and some would say, condemn you to hell for seeing it. Dozens of books and TV Specials have been churned out to explain it. Everybody and his bodkin has given an opinion. It would certainly be disappointing if all the hype turned out to be exactly that: all hype. After scanning the many of negative reviews that came out after the Premier, I was not expecting much of a film of The DaVinci Code. I should have had more faith.
It seems that every film critic wanted to be first in line to criticize Dan Brown's "preposterous" story that has sold more than 60 million copies. One wonders whether their taste is influenced by the story, the film, or by the Catholic Church, which again lives up to its reputation of condemning those who dare to doubt its version of the "truth." This reviewer found an intelligent, faithful reproduction of the book that only slightly shied away from Brown's challenge to Christianity. To the contrary, Ron Howard closed the story with Professor Langdon leaving the audience with rather tepid advice; "all that matters is what you believe." Hardly the stuff of heresy.
Fair warning: if you are looking for Tom Cruise rather that Tom Hanks, you will be disappointed. There's plenty of excitement, but the story requires the use of your brain for a little more than two hours.Between chases it requires a few calm and talkie scenes to tell that story. Those used to Music-Video style pacing may be put off at first, but the pauses are rewarding, especially for those who have not read the book. Unfortunately just telling the tale leaves little time for character development and the eerie flashbacks might be more confusing than enlightening. Such is the challenge for Ron Howard, a director brave enough to undertake such a challenging story from such a popular book.
Hank's portrayal of Robert Langdon, the claustrophobic Professor of Symbiology from Harvard, seems effortless--even though the author described Langdon in the book as "Harrison Ford in Harris tweeds." Ron Howard gave us Tom Hanks in shaggy hair. But it worked. No longer boyish, Hanks' natural charm and intelligence blends easily with the tentative confidence of Audrey Tautou for an odd marriage of convenience as he helps her character, Sophie, find out the awesome secret for which her grandfather gave his life. Naturally, Ian McClellan is brilliant as Teabing, reminding me of his Richard III with a curiously similar end. The brilliant casting continues with strong performances by Jean Reno, as Besu Fache, the crusty detective, and Paul Bettany as the horrifying Albino, Silas.
Of course, reading the book before seeing the film will make understanding easier, but I suspect that seeing the film will encourage many more movie-goers to seek out the book. Perhaps you may want to find out more about what you believe. In any event, as McClellan said on the Today Show, "It's a jolly good tale." That it is--fiction or no fiction.