The Book of Clarence had its world premiere at the 67th BFI London Film Festival on October 11, 2023, and was released by TriStar Pictures in the United States on January 12, 2024. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $6 million against a budget of $40 million, but received generally favorable reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Plot
The story unfolds in three "Books": "The 13th Apostle"/"The New Messiah"/"The Crucifixion", title-lettered Ten Commandments-style.
A struggling Hebrew man in A.D. 33 Jerusalem, Clarence, and friend Elijah lose a chariot race with Mary Magdalene (and money the victory would have brought) due to difficulties such as gypsies shooting darts at them, and almost running over a dirt-encrusted beggar, Benjamin. Clarence owes money to loan shark Jedediah the Terrible, but also loves Jedediah's sister Varinia. Roman soldiers racially profile Clarence and Elijah for a theft they didn't commit.
Clarence, a marijuana smoker who steals honey wine from the Romans, smokes opium one day, around the floating-in-air bodies of other opium-smokers, and, seeing a light over his head, conceives the idea of being a fake messiah, capitalizing on the rise of Jesus Christ, to free himself of debt and start a life of glory. John the Baptist slaps him for being a hypocrite when he drops by to be baptized. Clarence proposes to the Twelve Apostles that he become the 13th apostle. They laugh at him. Clarence's blue-eyed twin brother Thomas, one of the Twelve, is cynical and dismissive towards Clarence. In turn, Clarence criticizes Thomas for leaving their mother to follow Jesus.
Judas Iscariot proposes that Clarence free a group of gladiator slaves, to earn his place as an apostle. Clarence goes to the gladiators' owner and proposes he free them. The owner instead says he'll free the slaves if they beat Clarence to death; then says he'll just have the huge Barabbas the Immortal fight Clarence. Clarence wins through trickery; Barabbas is freed, and goes with him. Barabbas is rebellious against Roman rule and antagonizes Roman soldiers. Barabbas claims to be truly immortal, except if hit in the heel (like Achilles). Clarence visits Jesus' mother Mary, and father Joseph, asking how he can perform the same "tricks" Jesus does. The parents insist that Jesus is real, not a trickster. Clarence, Elijah, Barabbas, and Zeke travel the land, with Clarence performing "miracles" like bringing Elijah "back from the dead". They make much money. Also, Clarence, an atheist, preaches "knowledge over belief". However, Clarence decides to use the money to free the gladiators, rather than paying back Jedediah.
Mary Magdalene is being stoned to death due to accusations of sexual congress with Romans. Elijah tries to shield her. Jesus arrives, stops the stones' flight in mid-air, and notes that the stone-throwers are themselves sinners. He heals Mary's wounds. Elijah believes. Varinia betrays Clarence by being at a party with him, with Jedediah waiting outside. Jedediah tries to collect his money. The Romans arrive the scene at the same time to arrest Clarence for being a messiah. Barabbas resists, though Clarence insists he run away. Barabbas is speared three times, but survives, killing a Roman centurion sent after him. Jedediah is impressed and makes up with Clarence, though the Romans take Clarence away, since they are supposed to arrest any messiahs.
Pontius Pilate interrogates Clarence, who confesses that he is a trickster, not a messiah. Pilate says that despite confessing to fraud, Clarence may save himself by walking across water (a nearby pool). Clarence, to his own amazement, is able to do so, following a vision in the clouds. Nevertheless, Pilate says he will crucify him. Varinia visits Clarence in prison, and kisses him. Thomas also reconciles with him. Pilate mocks Jesus' ideas of human equality, and proposes to Clarence to reveal to him the location of Jesus so that he can regain his freedom, though Clarence mocks the Romans' male nude statues and refuses to betray Jesus.
Jesus gives money to Benjamin, and the ability to multiply coins. The newly-rich Benjamin buys a "makeover": under the dirt, he is a long-haired white man who resembles conventional portrayals of Jesus. Benjamin traipses around, throwing money to people, and Romans believe he is another "messiah". On the way to the cross, Amina, Elijah, and Barabbas watch. Cabbage, a small gypsy who despised Clarence, now helps carry his cross. Benjamin is crucified alongside Clarence, complaining that an onlooker is making a painting of him (looking like a traditional white Jesus). Jesus tells his weeping disciples that he himself will be betrayed and crucified. Jesus comes to Clarence's tomb, forgives his prior unbelief, and raises him from the dead and heals his nail wounds. Clarence now both "knows" and "believes", and smiles.
The film's score and soundtrack were composed by director and writer Jeymes Samuel. Samuel stated that writing and directing the film while also composing the score and performing the soundtrack was a "journey where one depended on the other."[10] In November 2023, the lead single for the soundtrack, "Hallelujah Heaven", featuring Lil Wayne, Buju Banton, and Shabba Ranks was released.[11] The film's score and soundtrack were released on January 12, 2024.[12] The soundtrack features Jorge Ben Jor, Lil Wayne, Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, Kodak Black, Doja Cat, Adekunle Gold, Jorja Smith, Yemi Alade, D’Angelo, JAY-Z, Kid Cudi, Alice Smith, and Terry Callier.[13]
Release
The Book of Clarence had its world premiere at the 67th London Film Festival on October 11, 2023, and was theatrically released on January 12, 2024.[14] It was originally set to be released on September 22, 2023, but was delayed for unspecified reasons.[15]
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, The Book of Clarence was released alongside The Beekeeper and Mean Girls, and was projected to gross around $7 million in its opening weekend.[2] It made $1 million on its first day, including $285,000 from Thursday night previews. The film ended up severely underperforming, debuting to $2.6 million and finishing in 10th place.[16]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of 115 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "The Book of Clarence makes light work of some heavy subject matter, with undeniably entertaining—albeit uneven—results."[17]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 67% overall positive score, with 45% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[16]
Guy Lodge of Variety wrote "Biblical cinema could use more messengers with Samuel's eccentricity and daring, alive to the limitations and biases that have hitherto made for such a stylistically uniform genre".[19]
Josef Ben Caiaphas, known simply as Caiaphas in the New Testament, was the High Priest of Israel during the years of Jesus' ministry, according to Josephus. The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John indicate he was an organizer of the plot to kill Jesus. He famously presided over the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. The primary sources for Caiaphas' life are the New Testament, and the writings of Josephus. The latter records he was made high priest by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus after Simon ben Camithus had been deposed.
Barabbas was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast.
King of Kings is a 1961 American epic religious film directed by Nicholas Ray and produced by Samuel Bronston for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Adapted from the New Testament, the film tells the story of Jesus of Nazareth from his birth and ministry to his crucifixion and resurrection. It stars Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, with Siobhán McKenna, Robert Ryan, Viveca Lindfors, Ron Randell, Hurd Hatfield, and Rip Torn and is narrated by Orson Welles.
Barabbas is a 1961 religious epic film directed by Richard Fleischer for Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, expanding on the life of Barabbas, from the Christian Passion narrative in the Gospel of Mark and other gospels. It stars Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Katy Jurado, Arthur Kennedy, Harry Andrews, Ernest Borgnine, Vittorio Gassman, and Jack Palance. The screenplay is based on Nobel Prize-winner Pär Lagerkvist's 1950 novel of the same title.
The Miracle Maker sometimes subtitled The Story of Jesus, is a 1999 Welsh-Russian stop motion-animated film directed by Derek Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov.
Jesus is a 1999 Italian-American biblical historical drama television miniseries that retells the historical events of Jesus Christ. It was shot in Morocco and Malta. It stars Jeremy Sisto as the titular character, Jacqueline Bisset as Mary of Nazareth, Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene and Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate. The miniseries was broadcast in Italy in two parts on December 5 and 6, 1999 before being broadcast in the United States on May 14 and 15, 2000.
Mark 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter records the narrative of Jesus' passion, including his trial before Pontius Pilate and then his crucifixion, death and entombment. Jesus' trial before Pilate and his crucifixion, death, and burial are also recorded in Matthew 27, Luke 23, and John 18:28–19:42.
The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 epic religious drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. Written by Paul Schrader with uncredited rewrites from Scorsese and Jay Cocks, it is an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' controversial 1955 novel of the same name. The film, starring Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Andre Gregory, Harry Dean Stanton and David Bowie, was shot entirely in Morocco.
Jewish deicide is the theological position and antisemitic trope that the Jews as a people are collectively responsible for the killing of Jesus, even through the successive generations following his death. The notion arose in early Christianity, and features in the writings of Justin Martyr and Melito of Sardis as early as the 2nd century. The Biblical passage Matthew 27:24–25 has been seen as giving voice to the charge of Jewish deicide as well.
The Visual Bible: Matthew is a 1993 film portraying the life of Jesus as it is found in the Gospel of Matthew. The complete Gospel is presented word-for-word based on the New International Version of the Bible. It was directed by South African film maker Regardt van den Bergh and stars veteran actor Richard Kiley in the role of St. Matthew, newcomer Bruce Marchiano as Jesus, and Gerrit Schoonhoven as Peter. Marchiano portrays Jesus as a joyous, earthy, personal man with a sense of humour.
Nicholas Andre Pinnock is a British actor. He is known for his role as lead character Aaron Wallace in the American legal drama For Life.
Son of God is a 2014 American epic biblical film directed by Christopher Spencer, and produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. The film retells the life of Jesus Christ and is an adaptation of the ten-hour miniseries The Bible, which aired in March 2013 on the History channel, and immediately following the movie begins another TV series called A.D. The Bible Continues. The film stars Diogo Morgado, Greg Hicks, Adrian Schiller, Darwin Shaw, Sebastian Knapp, Joe Wredden, Simon Kunz, Paul Marc Davis, Matthew Gravelle, Amber Rose Revah, and Roma Downey.
LaKeith Lee Stanfield is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Short Term 12 (2013), for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He received further recognition for his roles in the films Get Out (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Uncut Gems (2019), Knives Out (2019), and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), the lattermost of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Caleb Reginald McLaughlin is an American actor. He gained international recognition for playing Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016–present). McLaughlin began his career playing Young Simba in the Broadway musical The Lion King, followed by small roles in television. After his breakthrough with Stranger Things, he appeared in the drama films High Flying Bird (2019) and Concrete Cowboy (2020), the latter his first lead role in a feature film. His work also includes the miniseries The New Edition Story (2017) and several television voice acting roles.
Tom Glynn-Carney is an English actor. He appeared in Christopher Nolan's war film Dunkirk (2017) and won a Drama Desk Award in 2019 for his performance in the play The Ferryman. He gained recognition for starring as Aegon II Targaryen in the fantasy drama series House of the Dragon (2022–present).
Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed and produced by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, based on a story by the pair and Kenny and Keith Lucas. The film is about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal, an FBI informant. Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen also star.
Micheal Ward is a Jamaican-born English actor and former model. His films include Blue Story (2018) and The Old Guard (2020). On television, he appeared as Jamie in the Netflix show Top Boy and The A List. Ward was awarded the 2020 BAFTA Rising Star Award.
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