This remake of the biblical story is truly weird. Set in the very near future in Dreamland, a real abandoned fun-park in Margate, we quickly lose all concern for the characters thanks to its incomprehensible script and amateur acting. We do feel sympathy however for Bernard Hill, vainly salvaging what is left of his socialist credentials post-Lord of the Rings. He plays Pharaoh Mann, a right-wing politician who has incarcerated all political undesirables behind the steel fences of the fun fair. He appears so uncomfortable throughout, it seems as if he cannot wait to make his own exodus as quickly as possible.The spectacular burning of a giant funereal wicker man (built by Anthony Gormley and Margate locals) is the one memorable moment in the whole exercise. I was at that Artangel event and it was truly inspiring, unlike anything on screen in a very long one hour,fifty. But back to the script - There now follows the famous biblical plagues - in this case presented as various forms of modern terrorism culminating in the bombing of a primary school forcing Pharaoh to release his captives. Does this story line legitimise the outrages of current religiously-driven killers? Let us hope that was not what the director intended, but you do get the feeling that by this stage most of those involved had given up on finding any sort of meaning. The escape into the Promised Land (Margate on a wet weekend) reminds one of those sad East Berliners discovering West Berlin shopping. Personally,I would have chosen to stay in Dreamland. A fight on the beaches ensues but is less convincing than the Margate Mod riots of the 1960s.The parting of the Red Sea gives us 5 seconds of CGI after which the money must have run out. I do wonder what the residents of Arlington House, the tower block overlooking Dreamland, thought of it all? The inhabitants are asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. Although thinking about it,that's plenty of cheap film extras with no hotel bills to pay.Read full review
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