Neo-Darwinism gets its comeuppance in John Feldman's terrific documentary, SYMBIOTIC EARTH: HOW LYNN MARGULIS ROCKED THE BOAT & STARTED A SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

When TrustMovies saw the running time -- two hours and 27 minutes -- of this new documentary, he has to admit it gave him pause. Upon finishing it, however, he could easily have spent another couple of hours in the company of the late scientist, biologist, professor and evolutionary theorist, Lynn Margulis, and her friends, relatives and scientific peers, so deeply and endlessly fascinating and important is all she had/has to show and tell.

The documentary is the product of filmmaker John Feldman (shown above) and his time spent with Ms Margulies, as the pair began work back in 2011 on a film about her ideas, shortly after which Ms Margulis (shown below and further below) died of a hemorrhagic stroke, was far too little. Feldman, who already had been a follower of her work and was by then more deeply committed to it, began to submerge himself ever more fully in that work, while trotting the globe, interviewing her colleagues, friends, relatives and co-workers, even including in the mix some dissenting scientists.

The film Feldman has made, to be released this coming week to home video via Bullfrog Films and Icarus Home Video, is a revelation. For someone like me, who was not even aware of Margulis' work and career until now, the documentary is not simply eye-opening and mind-expanding, but also a wonderful entryway into Ms Margulis' character, her personality, ideas, and even the manner in which she went about explaining and disseminating those ideas into a scientific community that was, as ever, far too resistant to change.

The woman's delightful sense of humor comes through consistently here, as she uses everything from popular songs to Emily Dickinson to underscore her message. What a treat she must have been for her students! And please don't worry that the documentary will be too advanced or difficult to follow or understand. Feldman has done a yeoman job of avoiding exactly these. What we learn here has not been dumbed down but it is understandable. While I might have occasionally preferred to be shown a few more concrete examples regarding the information being put forth, generally speaking there is enough of that to easily back up the ideas in play.

Turns out that Margulies, while being an admirer of and believer in the work of Charles Darwin, had little regard for the neo-Darwinists. Instead she proposed that symbiosis was the key driver of evolution, and though this idea was initially pooh-poohed by most of our male-centered/-oriented scientific community, evidence for this theory continues to amass. How neo-Darwinism connects to Capitalism is also shown here, and the connection proves every bit as sleazy as you might expect. (Do try to view the great French-Canadian TV series Capitalism for more on this connection.)

As a bonus feature, for me at least, was the opportunity to learn of Margulis' connection to and co-development (with British chemist James Lovelock, shown above and below) of the Gaia theory/hypothesis. Up until the present, whenever I heard anything about this Gaia idea, I imagined it to be -- thanks, I now realize, to the constanting negative drumming into my head via neo-Darwinist/Capitalists -- some feel-good, new-age bullshit. Hardly.

By the time you finish Symbiotic Earth, I daresay you'll be convinced -- due to the groundwork of Margulis -- of Gaia's possibilities and worth. If you're a layperson like me, you will also be convinced of the great worth of the contributions made by Lynn Margulis to our increasingly fragile planet. So, yes, if you haven't gathered the idea by now: This documentary is an absolute must-see.

From Bullfrog Films and Icarus Home Video, Symbiotic Earth: How Lynn Margulis Rocked The Boat and Started a Scientific Revolution hits the street on DVD this coming Tuesday, January 8 -- for purchase and/or (I dearly hope) rental. A film this important should be given every opportunity to be seen, mulled over and appreciated.

Blu-ray/DVDebut for Ivan Tverdovskiy's strange/moving/funny Russian hit, ZOOLOGY

Featuring a dynamic, one-of-a-kind performance by an actress new to me -- Natalya Pavlenkova -- and a story that seems almost as fantastic as its story-telling style is documentary-like reality, ZOOLOGY should prove utter catnip for cinema buffs.

As written and directed by Ivan Tverdowskiy, the movie introduces us to a middle-aged woman who will almost immediately charm and delight us before eventually very nearly breaking our hearts.

Zoology works on a number of levels, but primarily, I believe, it's a look at the plight of the "outsider" in relationship to the society in which she lives -- in this case modern-day Russia. So, yes, as usual with Russian filmmakers, we're in the land of corruption, hypocrisy, and small-minded folk who use what power they have in ways that alternate between abuse and cowardice.

Yet here, the filmmaker (shown at right) does not hammer it all home with the force and repetition that we often see coming out of Russia.

Instead, he allows his heroine (Ms Pavlenkova, shown at right, above and below) and hero (Dmitriy Groshev, ar left, above and below) to charm us and each other into a world of their own making that, for a time, takes them out of the despair of daily life.

As usual with a good movie, the less you know about plot going in, the happier you'll be coming out, having experienced the surprises that the filmmaker hopes to bring you along with the fun and challenge of piecing the story together. The tale here has to do with an unusual addition to the usual human anatomy and what this does to and for our heroine, along with how it affects those around her.

One one level this is pure fantasy, yet it works rather deeply on other levels, too: psychological, social, sexual, emotional. And our two lead actors could hardly be better. Ms Pavlenkova is a revelation: sad, needy, charming, sexy, and yet almost always mysterious, while Mr. Groschev proves her match. Younger, yet clearly very attracted to this woman, the character has his own quirks and needs, yet does as much as he can to satisfy our leading lady's.

Along the way we get a good dose of the Russian workplace -- the city zoo (for her), the medical establishment for him -- and the scenes with the animals are as beautifully handled as those in the hospital/doctors' offices are sterile and unwelcoming. Religion, along with a self-help guru (below), get trashed along the way, as well.

In the end, we're left with our heroine, her plight and the direction she chooses to take -- which is, TrustMovies thinks, not at all the necessary or right one. And yet, you'll fully understand why she's choosing this, even if you wish it were otherwise. So much more could have been had by and for our twosome, if only they, particularly she, were able to stretch and embrace it.

But maybe this is also the point: Russia and its population -- along with those of so many other countries -- can not yet accept (nor even want) change or evolution. It's simply too scary, too different, too demanding. And so we do what we think we must. Sad.

From Arrow Films/Arrow Academy and running an exemplary 91 minutes, Zoology hit the street this past November 14 -- for purchase and, I hope, rental, on both Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray also contains a  lovely and informative interview with actor Dmitriy Groschev that's very much worth viewing. The film's distributor in the USA is MVD Entertainment, and you can learn more information here. 

Lucile Hadzihalilovic's follow-up, EVOLUTION, proves another stylish, mysterious provocation

For all those hoping that more brilliant lightning might strike again, after Lucile Hadzihalilovic's earlier amazement, Innocence, I would suggests tamping down those expectations. Her new film, EVOLUTION does not begin to achieve the visual delights coupled to compelling tale that the earlier movie delivered. That said, there is still plenty to enjoy here -- visually, in particular -- if you don't mind some repetition and pacing of the snail variety. As I recall, Innocence ran a couple of hours, while this new film lasts but 81 minutes.

Content-wise, however, the bill remains unfilled. As in her earlier endeavor, Ms Hadzihalilovic, shown at right, takes us to a time and place that exists.... well, we know not where. It could be the future but it might also be some sort of dream or vision. Innocence told a story of a group of young girls and for what they were being groomed. Evolution does the same, but this time with young boys. And it is an even darker vision that the filmmaker presents this time around.

It is also a much less enticing world, in terms of the visuals on offer. Though the film takes place at the seashore, perhaps on an island, once we get inside (we stay there much of the time), the color palette is dark and drab, and although where we are appears to be a kind of  "hospital" located in a tiny village, everything looks about as clean and pristine as a shit pit. Perhaps this village's Health and Welfare budget has been decreed upon by our current Republican Party lawmakers.

The movie, like Innocence, is very spare regarding dialog. There is little of it, but the sense of mystery that hovers over all, together with the creepy visuals, help make up for this lack. Our lead character is a beautiful young boy named Nicolas (played by newcomer Max Brebant, above). In fact this village is peopled only with young boys and adult women: no young girls nor men of any age are ever seen.

What does this mean? And what in hell are the women doing to the boys? The answers slowly become clearer, if not transparent, as "mothers" (such as Julie-Marie Parmentier, above) are shown to be anything but motherly, and only one odd "nurse" (Roxane Duran, below) might possibly turn out to be a figure for good in the life of our little boy.

Evolution proves to be a very dark tale, ugly even. But it achieves its ends via quiet, disturbing images that often raise more questions than they answer. Ms Hadzihalilovic keeps us on track, however, and by the finale we can perhaps find a little hope for our beleaguered protagonist, although even this is rather "iffy," considering all that we still do not know.

What keeps the movie from resonating as strongly as it might is its very slow pace, during which -- for some of the time, at least -- we learn little that is new. Eventually this weighs the film down, especially given its dank, dark interiors and multitudinous nighttime scenes. What keeps it afloat, however, is Hadzihalilovic's fertile imagination and originality. No one that I can think of has made a movie much like either Innocence or Evolution. What's next, I wonder?

From IFC Midnight, Evolution opens this Friday in New York City at the IFC Center.  Elsewhere? Not sure, but as the film will simultaneously appear on VOD, if you want to see it anytime soon, you will surely be able.

ALLEGED, a bizarre look at the Scopes Monkey Trial, heads straight for DVD

Posing as a romantic drama that just happens to take place during the famous 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial pitting Darwin's theory of evolution against Christian fundamentalist thought, ALLEGED hopes to be a stealth missile in the current war between Bible-thumping creationists and those who favor the theory of evolution. Yes, evolution is a scientific theory. And The Bible? Oh, that's the word of god. Case closed. Late in this remarkably un-illuminating movie, a character implies that science is not to be trusted because it keeps changing. This statement receives knowing smiles all 'round because, after all, god's word can never change. Change -- hello! -- is why we grow. And learn. Or would we rather be back using the outhouse, pre-penicillin?

Before we get into what makes Alleged so paltry and sleazy, let's talk about the good things -- the "look" of the film: production design (Marthe Pineau), costumes (Joseph A. Porro) and cinematography (John Samaras). The film is always interesting to watch from a "pretty" standpoint. And that's it for the good stuff. Director (and sometimes actor) Tom Hines (at right) does a serviceable job with a screenplay credited to a quartet (Charlie Jordan Brookins and Leo Severino for the story, Fred Foote and Brian Godawa for the screenplay). But because the whole thing is so paint-by-numbers (with those numbers upside down and backward, at that), the movie falls flat.

The romantic story involves Charlie and Rose (played by Nathan West and Ashley Johnson), both reporters. She's goodness personified, he's ambitious, hoping to use the trial as a stepping stone to landing a job at a larger newspaper. That newspaper just might be The Baltimore Sun, whose editor H. L. Mencken (Colm Meaney) is in town for the trial. It's in the combination of Mencken/Meaney that the movie reaches its nadir. Mencken was probably not a very nice man, but he was a good writer. Much of his stuff holds up particularly well, but you'd never know it from this film, in which the character is given nothing worth hearing to say and consequently Meaney (below) comes off as simply mean, contemptuous and contemptible.

Everyone else connected to Darwin's theory is pretty sleazy, too. Dirty tricks abound, including the forced sterilization of a poor little girl because, well, that's part of Darwin's theory (huh?). All those who favor the "word of god," of course, could not be nicer folk. And the manner in which the movie handles the racism of the day is, uh, well...  Funny, but that racism doesn't even seem to exist. But how could it? Not where good, god-fearing Christians reside.

Also in the starrier-than-you-might-imagine cast are Brian Dennehy (above) as defense attorney Clarence Darrow and Fred Dalton Thompson (below) as prosecutor William Jennings Bryan. Darrow's characterization come closest to being genuinely full-bodied, and Dennehy is fine, as usual. Thompson is good, as well, but what audiences will make of this pair of dueling titans is up for grabs.

Alleged wants us to understand that this is all that the "theory" of evolution actually is: alleged, with no real, proven truth to it. (As though The Bible is any less "alleged"!) Creationists, to whom the movie is most clearly directed, will understand the "nuances" at work, but everyone else -- which is by far the more numerous audience -- is likely to be confused, annoyed and finally bored.

Is this what that trial and its surrounding happenings were actually like? Hardly. Seeing an alternate reality or a different view of the usual picture can be bracing -- particularly in a satire or black comedy (Alleged does not come close to managing either of these styles, nor was this the movie's intention). But stack the deck to the point that it is here, and one of the other card players -- angry that the "fix" is in -- is likely to pull out a six-shooter and pump you full of lead. Consider this review that bit of gunplay.

Alleged, from Image Entertainment, "streets" on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday, November 8, for sale or rental. (Well, you can SAVE it to your Netflix queue, whatever that means in these days of Netflix's non-ordering of so many new movies....)

The Amiel/Bettany/Connelly CREATION: Darwin delivers, at least halfway.

There is so much that is so good in CREATION -- the new film about Charles Darwin, his friends, family and work -- directed by Jon Amiel (shown just below), with a screenplay by John Collee (from the Darwin biography by the man's great, great grandson Randal Keynes), that it pains me to find, finally, its parts far better than its whole. Those parts -- certain indelible scenes -- often work so well, however, that I cannot but recommend that you see this film. Much of it is simply wonderful, eye-opening movie-making.

To my mind one of history's most important scientists for pulling the rug from under much religious "theory," Darwin himself was not particularly happy about this, as the movie makes clear. Married to a devout woman whom he dearly loved, he would no doubt have had things otherwise. Some of the film's early scenes are filled with smart discussion of science versus religion, between characters such as Joseph Hooker (a smooth Benedict Cumberbatch, below left), Thomas Huxley (an acerbic Toby Jones), the stern and somewhat pompous family friend Reverend Innes (an ever-so-slow-burning Jeremy Northham, below, center right) and Darwin himself (played very well by Paul Bettany (below, with legs stretched out, who pretty much runs his acting gamut here). That devout wife is essayed by Jennifer Connelly (below, right), but she is saddled with the nudge/drudge role, which curtails both her charm and beauty.  I wish the filmmakers had given her more to do/say/think, though she does have a nice penultimate scene.

Amiel's film concentrates most on the family relationships, particularly that of the Darwins and their daughter Annie, played quite well by newcomer Martha West (shown below left, with Connelly), who sports a wiser-than-her-years attitude that, for a change, does not curdle the viewer's goodwill. Because of his wife's devotion to religion, Darwin turns to Annie as his confidante and (in some ways) his adviser, and when illness strikes the child, his life and hers unravel.

One of the strengths of Creation comes in showing us that, as far ahead of the curve was Darwin, just as far behind it were many of the medical practices of the day -- some of which are shown in all their brutality and ugliness. Another wonderful section of the film deals with the orangutan Jenny (below), the scientific subject whom Darwin grows close to -- and (by reading and hearing about her) so does Annie. Some of the scenes involving this animal are breath-
takingly moving, especially given how true to the time period they look and feel.

Midway along, however, and from there through the finale, the movie begins to repeat itself, seeming to dawdle over Annie's illness (do we need to hear her ask for the orangutan story one more time?). The director deserves credit for his (and his cinematographer Jess Hall's) splendid work in placing the camera in such a way -- in the family scenes as well as the scenes with Jenny -- that it seems to caress its subjects with an exceptional warmth and love.  (This is a "family" movie in a much better sense of the word than are most Disney films.)  Your reviewer, however, wished for more of the intelligence and religion-versus-science fire that lit up those early scenes. 

Unlike The Young Victoria, another "historical" film currently in theaters with little more on its mind than history as pageant/
entertainment, and royals coming of age and falling in love (and it succeeds quite well in these objectives, by the way), Creation is about much more important stuff and is as timely now as when the events it pictures transpired.  That it works as well as it does is commendable; that it doesn't go the rest of the way is a shame. I wonder if the filmmakers were so worried that they decided to concentrate more on Darwin's family and Annie's sickness than on his work?  Fundamentalist thinkers will not embrace him either way, so it's too bad an opportunity has been missed.

Still, the filmmaker's final shot is richly moving and meaningful, combining, as the movie has managed frequently over its hundred-odd minutes, fantasy and reality.  It's subtle, too: Rather than allowing us to see the scene from the front, we view it from the rear, as Darwin moves ahead.  Even then, it is only at the final moment that we see whose hand he is holding.  Ah, but we recognize the clothing.

Creation, distributed by Newmarket Films (this is perhaps its penance for foisting upon us the torture-porn feature The Passion of the Christ and making lots of money from it), opens this Friday, January 22, in New York City at the Clearview First & 62nd Cinema and at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema.  Other venues nationwide should follow simultaneously -- or soon after.