When the first trailer for Book of Clarence was released last year, it did not make me feel confident in the film. It appeared to be another religious satire in the style of Life of Brian or First Temptation of Christ, something that was merely exploitational or made tired arguments about the dangers of organized religion. At the very least, it looked like its primary mission was to be a shallow political satire set against the events of the Bible.
However, my expectations were somewhat subverted by the fact the movie was far more reverent than I had expected. What could’ve been a cynical work of cliche political commentary was an overall more ambitious and sincere attempt to create a modern version of Ben Hur with a more diverse audience in mind. Unfortunately, the movie’s January release would suggest the studio didn’t have much hope for the final product.
Content Guide
Violence/Scary Images: Some bloody and gruesome imagery, including a character being crucified, with other characters being stabbed, bleeding, and dying
Language/Crude Humor: Frequent severe language throughout
Drug/Alcohol References: Characters regularly drink alcohol and smoke a drug that allows the person to fly
Sexual Content: Several crude sexual references and jokes throughout, including masturbation jokes, a scene in a strip club, and jokes about Mary’s virginity
Spiritual Content: The film is set against the events of the Gospels, with a main character who is attempting to mimic Christ’s ministry for personal gain, only to realize he is wrong
Other Negative Content: Some crude imagery and story ideas, with some questionable creative license taken on some of the events of the Gospels
Positive Content: Themes of justice, truth, and humility in the face of God’s truth
Review
Author’s Note: The original draft of this piece unintentionally contained outdated terminology. We did not realize was insensitive and removed it. We apologize for the error.
The Book of Clarence marks the second major cinematic work of British musician and filmmaker Jeymes Samuel, also as his stage name The Bullitts, following his 2021 Netflix western The Harder They Fall. Having been raised in an immigrant Catholic household, he speaks in his interviews positively about his love for the Biblical epics his family would watch as a kid, such as Ben Hur and Jesus of Nazareth. In his interview with Deadline, he talks about the desire to dig into the minutia of the Bible, while creating an original story that embraces the values of diversity and inclusion.
“I feel that the Bible, just as a book, has so much minutia it doesn’t cover, like where Jesus bought his sandals from or where people will get their hair done. There are so many little things it doesn’t cover and I’m fascinated by those things just because of the everyday necessities in life. I just thought this was a brilliant way to show how much we are all similar, how much really nothing’s changed whilst showing how much I love that genre.”
One can certainly sense enthusiasm in his words, given that he’s familiar with the scriptures and looks upon his religious upbringing positively. Unfortunately, The Book of Clarence proves to be an unfocused and underdeveloped work of Biblical fanfiction; clearly sincere in its desire to understand Christ, but lacking a certain nuance with his character-writing that would give the film a clearer sense of pacing and motivation.
The story follows the life of Clarence, the estranged twin brother of the Apostle Thomas. When he loses a street race with Mary Magdalene and finds himself indebted to bad people in Jerusalem, Clarence attempts to join the Apostles for protection, even though he’s an atheist and criminal. When this doesn’t work, he doubles down and decides to proclaim himself a new Messiah, traveling around Israel to proclaim the value of knowledge over belief and raising money through fake miracles; eventually drawing negative attention from Roman authorities in the process.
Despite Samuel’s desire to create something historically accurate, the movie is certainly filled with modern concessions and eccentricities. The cast of first-century Middle Eastern Jews is cast by Black actors while Romans are cast by white actors like James McAvoy and Benedict Cumberbatch, as part of a very modern commentary on racial violence. This is certainly a forgivable expression of creative license, as race and colonization are core themes of the film.
Samuel repeatedly argues that the character of Clarence is meant to simply be a normal guy, someone who looks like he’s from the hood. Unfortunately, these eccentricities do contribute to an atmosphere of general unfocusedness that permeates the film. It is one thing for a Biblical comedy to feel more like Monty Python than Ben Hur, lacking the grit and attention to detail of series like The Chosen, but The Book of Clarence feels like different three movies with different tones, themes, and strengths that don’t fit well together in practice.
The movie is divided into three “Books,” each focusing on a different part of Clarence’s life. At first, he’s just trying to become an Apostle, then he becomes a false Messiah, and finally, he comes into contact with the Romans who persecute him in a fashion that has direct thematic parallels to modern interactions between white police officers and Black Americans; with chauvinistic officers killing attacking fleeing suspects and overly persecuting the populations they control.
Unfortunately, most of these ideas are underdeveloped. They show up randomly in the last third of the story as heavy-handed metaphors and don’t take advantage of the Christian story to say something larger or more meaningful in the context of the greater story.
The movie does succeed in making a sincere contrast between the breathtaking nature of Jesus’s ministry, giving all of his scenes a sense of gravitas and ethereal wonder, and Clarence’s fake ministry. These scenes are all interspersed with Clarence’s hijinks, but it is hard to say exactly what the movie wants to say about the nature of false prophets and charismatic leaders. At times, the movie feels like it is a Bible movie in search of an idea, rather than a more straightforward commentary on police violence, cults of personality, or depictions of “White Jesus.”
The movie is also filled with some bizarre theological anachronisms. At one point, the apostles castigate Clarence for not believing in “the Immaculate Conception,” but the context of the scene suggests it’s talking about Jesus’s conception rather than Mary’s — as the Catholic term is historically defined. The movie also has some hiccups about the life of Barabbas, calling him “immortal” and showing him as not being in prison on the eve of Christ’s crucifixion. Pontius Pilate is depicted as a political snake who is required by Roman law to kill Messiahs, rather than someone who merely washed his hands of the situation. The Pharisees also play no role in the story, given that the bad guys are the Romans, while the Jewish authorities are depicted as Black religious leaders.
Unfortunately, The Book of Clarence’s efforts mostly come up short. It’s a weak comedy, shallow satire, and dramatic story with an underwhelming under-motivated main character who is too weighed down by doubt and personal faults to drive a story like this. It is full of ideas that could make for a sincere and powerful retelling of the Gospels, but it doesn’t know what to do with them.
At one point, I thought the story was actually going to secretly reveal that Clarence was the thief on the cross and this was his origin story, which would have been a compelling and sincere way to resolve a story about how a person can grapple with a lifetime of failure and regrets, but this doesn’t happen. The resolution we do get feels shallow like it’s scratching the surface of something powerful and struggling to realize it. It is a good idea in search of a more meaningful execution.
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