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Blu-ray Review: THE BOOK OF CLARENCE

Home » Blu-ray Review: THE BOOK OF CLARENCE

Mar 27 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

It’s 33 AD, and Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) and his buddy Elijah (RJ Cyler) are engaged in a fast-paced chariot race through the streets of Lower City, Jerusalem. But no one can outspeed their opponent, Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor). And in the process, their carriage gets wrecked and they are robbed. This puts Clarence in a tough financial situation. He had borrowed money and the carriage from Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi Abrefa), and must come up with the money in 30 days or he’ll be executed. Clarence is also unlucky in love. he has a thing for Jedediah’s younger sister, Varinia (Anna Diop), but she doesn’t seem to feel the same way about him, referring to him as a nobody.

Clarence is the complete opposite of his twin brother Thomas (also LaKeith Stanfield). Clarence grows and sells Lengunweed, and items he steals from the Romans, and he doesn’t believe in God, the Messiah or miracles. However, he was the one who took care of their mother, Amina (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), when she fell ill, while Thomas took off to become one of Jesus’ devoted disciples. Thomas thinks his faith makes him better than his brother. He spends his days spreading the word of Jesus, and he and the other Apostles strut through the streets like they own the place, as crowds part to let them through.

Clarence comes up with a plan that will solve both his love and money issues. If he can join the Apostles, he can get protection, power, and influence from them, and maybe even Varinia’s love and respect. However, when he brings up the idea to his brother and the others, he’s nearly laughed out of the room. Particularly skeptical are John the Baptist (David Oyelowo) and Judas Iscariot (Judas Iscariot), since Clarence doesn’t actually believe in Jesus or his teachings, and doesn’t do any chartable work for others.

So Clarence comes up with a new plan—he’ll just become a Messiah himself. He starts learning Jesus’ teachings so he can pass them off as his own. He also needs to learn how Jesus (Nicholas Pinnock) does all of his neat tricks (or as some refer to them, “miracles”) like healing and bringing people back from the dead. So why not go to the source and ask the man’s mother, Mary (Alfre Woodard)?! As this false Messiah hits the streets with his accomplices Elijah and recently-freed gladiator Barabbas (Omar Sy), performing fake miracles, making false speeches, and watching the shekels roll in, something starts to change in Clarence. Could there be something to Jesus and his teachings?! He also catches the attention of the Roman Centurions, who are on the hunt for Jesus and his disciples.

The Book of Clarence is both an homage to and a reimagination of the massive biblical epics of the 1950s and 1960s, giving the story a slightly modern sensibility and soundtrack while still keeping the ancient Jerusalem look and setting. I found it quite interesting how this fictional story of Clarence is weaved into the classic biblical Passion story, making you wonder if you just missed the parts about Thomas’ brother Clarence. The film does have some lighter moments of humor—such as when Clarence questions Mary about how Jesus does all his “tricks”, or his reactions to hearing Mary and Joseph (Brian Bovell) explain the virgin birth. However, the tone can also be quite serious and dramatic. At the core is this story of a man finding his faith and getting persecuted for his beliefs.

The vast majority of the cast are Black, which is never seen in these types of biblical epics, and Jerusalem is very much their hood. However, its a wonder why no one thought to do this before—it actually works really well and feels like a very natural way to tell this story. LaKeith Stanfield delivers on both the humor and the drama, and plays both Clarence and Thomas in a way that they look and feel like two very different characters. While there are a lot of great performances, some of the other standouts for me were Omar Sy as Barabbas, who’s this fun Terminator-like character who insists he’s immortal; RJ Cyler as the sidekick Elijah, who gets roped into Clarence’s plans; and Micheal Ward as Judas Iscariot, who’s this fun foe to Clarence, but also has a bit of a dramatic arc. The brief cameos by David Oyelowo as John the Baptist, and Alfre Woodard as the Virgin Mary also bring a lot of humor. The non-Black cast members are either Roman Centurions like Antoninus (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and the bratty Decimus (Tom Glynn-Carney), who feels like Joffrey Baratheon meets Draco Malfoy, or bigger-name cameos by James McAvoy as Pontius Pilate, and Benedict Cumberbatch as homeless beggar Benjamin.

The film looks beautiful, really transporting viewers back to ancient Jerusalem with the sets and costumes. Giving big spectacles and nods to other biblical epics, such as the chariot race in Ben-Hur and the gladiators of Spartacus, as well as more modern pop-culture references. There is also a really fun re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The film has a great soundtrack, finding this unique blend of classical gospel music, to more funky numbers, to modern R&B pieces. There’s even a big dance number in the middle of the film.

Watching the bonus material, you can really sense the love and passion the director had for this project and it can be felt in the final project. While I really enjoyed the concept and look of the film, I found it to be a bit too slow at points. The film clocks in at over 2 hours, and is broken into 3 parts—”Book I: The 13th Apostle”, “Book II: The New Messiah”, and “Book III: The Crucifixion”. I’m not sure what I would have cut, but I have seen this film twice now, and both times, I felt the same way by the end. There was something about the tone that didn’t quite work for me, the way it blends the action, humor and more faith-based drama together. The trailer offers the idea of a fast-paced, rise and fall of a gangster type film, but the final project feels a bit more bogged down by these slower more reflective character moments. I think I just wanted more humor and/or a faster pace, as the action and humor are where the film really shines for me.

Sony’s has released The Book of Clarence on physical media on Blu-ray and DVD, but it is also available digitally in 4K. I was sent the Blu-ray release for review, which features excellent picture and sound. The video is clean and clear throughout, capturing the beautiful setting and epic scope of the film with a solid level of detail. The color palette does a nice job of transporting the viewer back to ancient Jerusalem. The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout and really showcases the film’s amazing soundtrack. The audio track also makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to add an immersive ambiance throughout.

The Blu-ray disc resides in standard HD keepcase—our review copy did not include a slipcover. Despite previous announcements, this release does not include a digital copy, and unlike most Sony movies, the digital release is not Movies Anywhere eligible. The disc contains a great selection of bonus material—over 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, over 30 minutes of deleted scenes, and a director/star commentary.


What’s Included:


Film: (2:09:24)

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