SiftPop

by Robert Bouffard, Editor

In 2021, Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall saw the director burst onto the scene with a highly stylistic Western populated by mostly Black actors. It’s a genre whose history is filled with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood types, so Samuel’s outing broadens the scope of who can lead such a film. And now, just a couple of years later, Samuel is back with The Book of Clarence, a movie that does for the biblical epic what The Harder They Fall did for Westerns. Clarence brings just as much style and even more depth and subversion (if not too much ambition), placing Samuel among the most exciting names to look out for in Hollywood.

There are three distinct thematic ideas in Clarence: There’s a story of potentially unrequited love between Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) and Varinia (Anna Diop), the struggle between taking things on faith or fact, and a commentary on race relations. The film takes place in 33 A.D. in Jerusalem, hence the biblical epic, so the latter two through lines are intriguing in a lot of ways. Clarence is an atheist, even though he’s encountered Jesus (Nicholas Pinnock), but when he runs into a Hollywood reason for needing money, he endeavors to make himself a new messiah, which would in theory get him enough money to repay his debts. 

With this contrived reason for Clarence needing some money comes Samuel’s surprisingly sincere look at Christianity. It’s unusual these days to get a Hollywood feature that unabashedly believes the way that Clarence does, but that’s a big part of what makes it work so well. The main purpose of the film isn’t apologetics; it’s to center an unbelieving character who has a selfless heart nonetheless. Clarence’s twin brother, Thomas (also played by Stanfield), left Clarence and their ailing mother to follow Jesus as one of the apostles (he’s the one who eventually is dubbed “Doubting Thomas,” so I guess you could call our main character “Doubting-er Clarence”), and Clarence doesn’t let him forget how selfish of an act that is, despite what Jesus teaches. And while Clarence is a slacker in a lot of ways, he still repeatedly shows that he has goodness in his heart for its own sake, which goes against the pompousness of the apostles, particularly Judas (Micheal Ward).

As the film goes on, we’re presented with more and more evidence of the quality of Clarence’s character, in spite of his new, anti-Life of Brian claims of being the messiah in an effort to defraud people of their money for his own sake (characters need arcs, after all). This movie isn’t at all interested in confronting you with the idea that Jesus’ miracles were fake (à la Exodus: Gods and Kings), or with postulating that he’s not, in fact, the son of God — instead, it takes for granted that Jesus is who he says he is. There’s a real feeling of reverence for the divinity of Jesus and the sanctity of the stories of the people around him; the film feels surprisingly akin to The Rings of Power in the sense that it plays with well-established characters, like Mary and Joseph (Alfre Woodard and Brian Bovell), in new stories and settings, while adding original characters, like Clarence and his stoner best friend, Elijah (RJ Cyler).

By expanding on what we know about many of these characters, Clarence is able to be about more than just spirituality and the methods by which, and reasons why, people practice their morals. With a predominantly Black cast portraying the locals, and white men with British accents playing the cop-like ruling Romans, we also get some straightforward comparisons to modern day racism and oppression, particularly from law enforcement.

With Samuel’s quick-witted dialogue and his always exciting visual flair, combining racial commentary and spiritual introspection would have made for a near-perfect movie, but with Clarence’s 129-minute runtime, there is more fat than you’d prefer, mostly stemming from the storyline with Varinia. And while Diop is great, most scenes with her character really mess with the pacing. Perhaps it’s that Samuel wanted to bring in more of a female presence in an otherwise male-dominated story, but in that case I’d have preferred to see more of Mary Magdalene (played by Teyana Taylor, who is excellent in last year’s A Thousand and One, and has her moments here). And if it’s in there just to add more emotional depth, Clarence’s relationship with his brother and mother already do plenty of work on that front, not to mention his spiritual struggle. Even though there’s a highly entertaining dance sequence featuring Clarence, Varinia, Barabbas, Elijah, and Dirty Zeke (Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin, who is excellent with a handful of one-liners and reaction shots), Clarence’s pining always seems to bring the pace, and honestly the stakes, both physical and spiritual, down.

On top of that, for a movie that begins as a story that follows the traditional telling of the last days of Christ, following the characters on the margins, it gets muddled towards the end. I think I can logically work out what happens, and reconcile it with what I know of the biblical tale, but it mostly comes down to the movie being too ambitious for its own good (particularly with a character played by Benedict Cumberbatch — which is at once hilarious and bloating to the story — and the ultimate fate of Jesus himself). Frankly, I love the ambition, because with Samuel’s audio (he composed the film’s music as well) and visual style, and thematic earnestness, I can forgive some minor confusions towards the end.

Of course, this style would be nothing without its performers, whose praise I’ve smattered in here and there throughout the review. This is the kind of role I’ve been wanting to see Stanfield do once or twice a year after his official announcement with Sorry to Bother You, Uncut Gems, and Knives Out. Instead of being the boring straight man that he was in Haunted Mansion, Stanfield gets to channel Darius from Atlanta again, and be the goofball with some real depth. And on top of everyone else I’ve already mentioned, the likes of James McAvoy as Pontius Pilate, David Oyelowo, Tom Glynn-Carney, Omar Sy as Barabbas, and Eric Kofi-Abrefa all get their moments to shine. 

Ultimately, it’s refreshing to see a movie that is upfront about its potentially unpopular worldview. It isn’t interested in being a cynical religious takedown, but rather invites people from all backgrounds to find something to latch onto. Because while it certainly believes in God, it believes in the goodness that he can inspire in humans even more. 

Rating: Liked It

The Book of Clarence is currently playing in theaters

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You can read more from Robert Bouffard, and follow him on Letterboxd