Let's do the Post-Apocalyptic Scenario Rundown:
What Caused the Apocalypse: Nuclear War ("they punched a hole in the sky," says Eli [Washington]). Religion is blamed for the war, so following the return of society, all religious texts are burned.
Adverse Effects on the Population: It seems that some of the adults were blinded by the sun's rays, and everybody in post-apocalyptia needs to wear sunglasses at all times. Lack of power, books, and general loss of simple creatures comforts. Money has pretty much disappeared, and trading is based on things like lighters, oil, water, and in one case, a valuable bottle of shampoo. Eli trades with Engineer (Tom Waits) to recharge an iPod, which presumably represents some of the last music available in this world.
How Is Society Adapting: On the roads, there are scavengers, travelers, and people who set up traps, usually involving a woman who pretends to have a broken down shopping cart (this trick appears twice in the film). There are a handful of towns where civilization is slowly rebuilding, such as the one run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Elsewhere, there are small dwellings that families have refused to abandon, like the home of George (Michael Gambon) and Martha (Frances de la Tour). You want to avoid the latter, as there's a good chance that kindly old couple might be cannibals.
Our Hero(es): Eli (Denzel Washington), a warrior-monk type traveling from the East coast to the West coast, carrying a book that may or may not be the last surviving copy of the King James Bible, which he protects from any attacker. Something's off about Eli, but it's unclear what until just before the end.
Who's Standing in the Way: Carnegie and his henchmen (including Rome and Punisher: War Zone's Ray Stevenson). When Carnegie gets word about the book from Claudia (Jennifer Beals) and her daughter Solara (Mila Kunis), he wants it to help rebuild society ("This book is a weapon!" he tells his men). Carnegie is well read, cunning, and resourceful, and poses such a threat that he forces Eli and Solara to forge a temporary alliance with George and Martha the cannibals in order to stay alive.
So What's so Important About Where He's Headed: There may or may not be a group of people trying to rebuild society without controlling them through fear that Eli wants to deliver the book to. It's been his life's mission to get there, and Carnegie is only the last obstacle for Eli to clear.
How Well is the Post-Apocalyptic World Conveyed: It's pretty solid. Eli and Solara sleep inside of the cooling tower for a Nuclear Power Plant, the rules of how society operates are conveyed clearly by Eli and Carnegie's town structure makes sense. Cars are used sparingly and with everything at a premium, none of the characters are too wasteful with what they have. Food seems to be in short supply, so the film opens with Eli hunting a feral cat (hairless, presumably as a result of the radiation). (Spoiler) The outpost in Alcatraz designed to collect the remnants of the "old world" from 30 years ago also is appropriate considering how difficult rebuilding must be, and I like little touches about younger survivors asking elders what life was like "before."
Visually, I like that the Hughes brothers went with a sun-bleached palette. It always feels totally appropriate that everyone is wearing sunglasses, as the world seems just a little bit brighter than it ought to be. Even though most of the movie takes place in the desert, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the country looked like the backgrounds of The Book of Eli.
So, Glass Half Full Post-Apocalypse, or Glass Half Empty?: This is definitely a "glass half full" kind of movie, one that embraces a positivist role of religion in society. Without spoiling too much, Carnegie does and doesn't get what he wants, and Eli and Solara make it out west. There's the potential for sequel-izing if they wanted to, based on the very end, but either way it's the kind of movie that reaffirms your faith in mankind to rebuild.
The Hughes brothers have constructed a great looking post-apocalyptic vision of the western U.S., with solid acting across the board and some interesting ideas about where faith fits into a world that forgot it long ago. The Book of Eli is certainly a more action oriented, western-based take on the genre, but that's not such a bad thing at all. In fact, I'd dare say you'll find a lot to enjoy about the movie. Regarding the "twist": I'd rather not spoil it for you, but I will say that I knew what it was going in and was able to follow the visual clues. Save for one scene, I think they kept to it pretty well, but I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Join me tomorrow for The Road.
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