The Book of Eli

"Its like he's protected somehow, nothing can touch him."
"He's just a man, put a bullet in him and he'll go down like any other."

In a post-apocalyptic world, life is hard.  The sun is scorching, requiring sunglasses all day, and water is in short supply, and people stick together to survive.  One man, Eli (Washington), travels west with precious cargo: a book.  He survives by foraging abandoned homes for supplies and staying away from people.

He comes to a town, ruthlessly run by Carnegie (Oldman).  Carnegie is a literate man that remembers the way life used to be.  He sends thugs, led by Redridge (Stevenson), on the road to find a book that will give him limitless power.  When Carnegie learns that Eli can read, he sends his prize, Solara (Kunis), to convince Eli to stay.  But Solara learns that Eli has a book... and is forced to tell Carnegie when he threatens her blind mother, Claudia (Beals).  Will Eli ever reach his destination?


I don't tend to watch post-apocalyptic films ... just not interested.  But my roommate raved about this film, so I decided to give it a chance.

The filmmakers force you to pay attention... they use silence frequently throughout.  The first words are spoken eight minutes into the film.  They don't waste time on long soliloquies or overindulgent monologues,  every word is intentional.  But the focus of the film is the visuals, so pay attention and you'll figure it all out.

An interesting film, worth a look.

The Book of Eli (2010) 118 minutes
Rating: R for some brutal violence and language
Director: Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes
Starring: Denzel Washington as Eli
Gary Oldman as Carnegie
Mila Kunis as Solara
Ray Stevenson as Redridge
Jennifer Beals as Claudia