The Book of Clarence, 2023.
Written and Directed by Jeymes Samuel.
Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anna Diop, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Babs Olusanmokun, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Nicholas Pinnock, Micheal Ward, Chase W. Dillon, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Chidi Ajufo, Andrea Ali, Jacobi Howard, Hopi Grace, Arnold Oceng, Claudius Peters, Francis Ezekiel, and Fejiro Emasiobi.
SYNOPSIS:
Struggling to find a better life, Clarence is captivated by the power of the rising Messiah and soon risks everything to carve a path to a divine existence.
A Black-centric spin on well-known religious stories, writer/director/composer Jeymes Samuel’s The Book of Clarence is a fascinating swing suggesting that The Harder They Fall filmmaker has refreshing ideas up his sleeve no matter the period setting. On the surface, it’s a film putting a Black ensemble at the forefront of a genre that rarely does much with their talents but fully realized on an imaginative, subversive scale interested in characters and every detail of what this life would be like.
Once again writing the songs for a hip-hop soundtrack with musical compositions harkening back to similar Bible epics (not to mention several visual references to films such as Ben-Hur coming early, proudly announcing and wearing the influences on its heart), Jeymes Samuel has taken something lame and tired, injecting it with excitement for something new and worthwhile even if the conflicting tones of comedy, drama, and action don’t always come together in each scene. As a filmmaker, he is a student of the genre with deep appreciation yet fully in control of how to make it his own.
There also happens to be much help in the form of a loaded ensemble led by LaKeith Stanfield as the eponymous slacker, living in a Jerusalem oppressed by the Romans (James McAvoy and more make appearances portraying nasty characters adding a racial element), in debt to Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi-Abrefa), a problem he makes worse by taking his money and losing in a chariot race against Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor, who delivered one of the absolute best performances of last year in A Thousand and One, showing that Jeymes Samuel is simply aware of all the Black excellence around him and who to choose), while also being in love with the gangster’s sister Varinia (Anna Diop).
Living with his mother (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and trying to support her by any means necessary, Clarence also has a long-standing grudge against his twin brother Thomas (LaKeith Stanfield pulls off both roles) for abandoning the family during a rough stretch to join Jesus and his apostles. Clarence also does not believe in miracles, with knowledge as his weapon of choice. There is an intersection of knowledge and belief throughout The Book of Clarence, which might cause one to presume that the proceedings might fall apart into religious propaganda, but again, Jeymes Samuel is too intelligent of a filmmaker for that. Instead, he uses that tug-of-war and conflict between characters to explore what it really means to be a Messiah and do right by fellow citizens.
What follows is a hustler story, with Clarence rounding up friends and new acquaintances, including a freed gladiator slave played by Omar Sy, who is convinced he can’t die based on the number of times he has been stabbed in life, all to re-create fake versions of the supposed miracles Jesus has pulled off, all to pocket the financial rewards for his group. It makes for what is easily the most fun stretch of the film, filled with laughs, but even with an opening scene that spells out doom, it’s quite difficult to prepare oneself for how serious and dramatic the third act turn is, with Clarence on a journey of growth and greater understanding of how to better serve its community with or without religion, and whether he really is or isn’t a Messiah.
There are also plenty of clunky segments, mostly stemming from the family drama and relationship storyline (this is a 2+ hour movie that probably could have done with one or two fewer scenes of the brothers arguing the same talking points regarding how one left the family behind.) None of this has helped by some dialogue either feeling forced or heavy-handed, as if Jeymes Samuel doesn’t want to write to his strengths. As a whole, there are pacing issues alongside a first half that doesn’t feel alive anywhere near as much as the remaining 90 minutes. Still, The Book of Clarence is a vibrant and zany take demonstrating that there are still so many fresh Black spins to put on classics, but a blast in its own right.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
