In his previous film, 2021’s The Harder They Fall, director Jeymes Samuel reinvigorated the Western genre by infusing it with plenty of culture and swagger. Filled with an infectious blend of wit and visual flare, the film brought new life to familiar tropes. Samuel brings that same playbook to his latest work The Book of Clarence, a comedic reimagining of classic sword-and-sandals biblical epics.
Fearlessly walking across a delicate tightrope of religious and societal commentary, while attempting to use humour as its balancing tool, the film moves across some rocky waters to preach the importance of having faith.
Faith is not something that comes naturally though, a person must make the conscious effort to see beyond the self. This is something that down-on-his luck Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) refuses to accept at the beginning of the film. Claiming to be a man of knowledge, he is convinced that God does not exist because has never seen proof of the miracles that others claim the Messiah has performed.
Furthermore, he cannot help but notice the hypocrisy of those who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ (Nicholas Pinnck). The most notable example being his own twin brother Thomas (Stanfield in a dual role), an apostle of Christ who ignored his own family in their time of need.
Unlike Thomas, Clarence is the one who stepped up and is hustling to provide for his mother (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). Aided by his loyal friend Elijah (RJ Cyler), he resorts to selling weed and borrowing money from local tough guys like Jedediah (Eric Kofi-Abrefa) to get by. However, when he loses Jedediah’s money in a chariot race with Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor), Clarence is given 30-days to pay it back.
Desperate to find a way to make quick cash, or at the very least find protection from Jedediah, he tries to become the 13th apostle. While he may not believe in God, Clarence sees the respect and clout they carry. However, when he is rejected by the group, even after completing a dangerous task assigned by Judas (Micheal Ward), the streetwise hustler decides to take matters in his own hands. All he needs to do is figure out how to recreate Jesus’ miracles, which Clarence considers “tricks,” that seem to be captivating the masses.
As Clarence and his team of would-be tricksters, including Zeke (Caleb McLaughlin) and recently freed slave/gladiator Barabbas (Omar Sy), who believes God gave him the power of invincibility, set out to execute their ruse, Samuel fills his film with several iconic moments and figures from the Bible.
There is a great scene involving an interaction between Clarence and John the Baptist (David Oyelowo), who gets the town gossip faster than a What’s App group chat. Another amusing moment comes when Mother Mary (Alfre Woodard) explains both her son’s ability to turn clay into real birds and the misconceptions around her own immaculate conception.
Samuel uses moments like these to humorously show that Clarence is not the only wayward soul. The film holds up the mirror to those who claim to have faith in God, but frequently choose personal comfort over empathy and understanding.
The Book of Clarence questions how society can be so callous when it comes to the hardships of others. The film uses Pontius Pilate’s (James McAvoy) centurions to touch on how white fear has led to a lengthy history of racism and police brutality towards Black people. Samuel does not let the Black community off the hook either, acknowledging their complicity in ignoring the plight of the unhoused, a point exemplified by the recurrence of a beggar played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
While the commentary is pointed, Samuel’s script struggles to incorporate it in a cohesive manner. The comedic rhythm of the film, its greatest strength, occasionally gets disrupted by characters making blunt statement and observations. Like a broken metronome that only leans to one side, the frivolous beats and serious notes are often out of sync.
Instead of ruminating on its oberservations about society with any depth, the script merely assumes that random proclamations are enough. The film is far more interested in recreating key events that lead up to Jesus’ crucifixion.
The Book of Clarence works best when focusing in on Clarence’s spiritual awakening. LaKeith Stanfield is wonderful as the wayward titular character, a man who desperately wants to be seen as important and loses sight of himself in the process.
Backed by a strong ensemble cast, which also features Anna Diop as Jedediah’s sister and Clarence’s love interest, Stanfield ensures that the audience remains invested in his character’s journey every step of the way. Samuel injects plenty of entertaining moments, including a few action nods to epics like Ben-Hur, into the film’s veins, which makes Clarence plight from atheist to persecuted believer a mostly enjoyable affair.
A far more daring work than The Harder They Fall, but not nearly as successful, The Book of Clarence is equally amusing, thought-provoking, and muddled. Challenging the audience to reflect on their own views of faith, and the need for more compassion in the world, there is just enough here to warrant pulling this book off the shelf and giving it a read.
