There's always something different
**THIS ANALYSIS CONTAINS SPOILERS**
This is an analysis on the differences between the film and the graphic novel, NOT the actual Biblical account. For my thoughts on Biblical Film Adaptations see:
AGAIN, this is an analysis and semi-review of the NOAH film and graphic novel.
If you are reading this, then I'm assuming you have seen the film or read the graphic novel or done both. However if you are reading this without having seeing the film or reading the graphic novel but still wish to do so then I advise seeking this article at a later time. If you do not care about seeing the film or reading the graphic novel...then go right on ahead.
My thoughts on the Film
I believed Noah is a great film that is also significantly flawed in a few places. Not so much the execution of wanting to show the madness of a family dealing with the pressures of being the sole survivors of an apocalypse, but rather character interactions. The motivations for the primary antagonist of the movie Tubal-Cain played by Ray Winstone are fairly one dimensional. He is very straightforward in his beliefs: we are the masters of the universe and God (The Creator) has abandoned us. He is the poison that infects the mind of Noah's son, Ham played by Logan Lerman, into plotting to betray Noah. His purpose really is just to be this antagonistic force for the story. He shows himself to be resilient to the point where when his army is killed by the flood he manages to break into the Ark before being drowned. No matter how one looks at it, he is a very straight forward character.
Then of course there is the case of Ham seeking out a wife among the savage army of survivors. He does so by finding a woman named Na'el played by Madison Davenport. She's given enough character to make the audience feel sorry for her when she ultimately gets caught in a bear trap. When Noah has the chance to save her, he does not, and instead leaves her to get trampled to death by an oncoming army.
The reason why I bring that up is because those parts of the film that I viewed as kind of weak are actually made stronger in the Graphic Novel.
My thoughts on the Graphic Novel
As an avid comic book reader, this is one of the most beautifully made graphic novels I got my hands on in a while. The real reason why I picked it up was mainly because the images that were shown to promote the production of the film were directly from the graphic novel. So I was expecting the film to live up to the visuals that I saw in those few images. From those few images and what I saw from the film, I thought Darren Aronofsky did a great job translating his vision from comic book to film. Was I too quick to judge? Apparently yes after reading the Graphic Novel.
As I stated, this is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've seen. The story, is pretty much beat by beat exactly the same as the one in the film. So comparing which story is better is pretty much pointless. However in terms of which character motivation and development works out better, then that's where the clear distinction lies.
How the comic is better than the movie
Noah in the graphic novel may not be a vegetarian like his film counterpart. In the beginning of the film he stops some hunters from killing a mythical creature. In the graphic novel he stops a group of hunters from killing wooly rhinos for sport. He states that he doesn't mind them killing animals, but he does mind them wasting animals just to take a useless part of them. So he does wish that mankind can go about things differently as opposed to his film counterpart who seems rather indifferent about what humanity does.
When Noah starts to receive visions of a flood, his film counterpart seeks out his grandfather for advice. The graphic novel counterpart still seeks out his grandfather, but before doing so he does something I now realized I wished the film counterpart did: WARN THE SURVIVING HUMANS. Noah takes his eldest son Shem to the kingdom of the last surviving humans of the planet. There he asks permission of their king, Tubal-Cain, to speak before his people about the oncoming storm. He grants them permission. However as one would predict, no one believes Noah's preaching which leads the king to banish him from the Kingdom.
Of course this leads to the chase into the land of the Watchers and that's where the graphic novel realigns with the plot of the film. But that one scene of Noah preaching to humanity and that exchange with Tubal added more character and depth to both of these characters that was missing in the film. In the graphic novel it is clear that Noah is a good but conflicted man and that Tubal is a vile but just king who has some respect for Noah.
This carries over to the portion where they confront each other when the Ark is being built. In the film it was the first time these two meet, but in the graphic novel it is a plea for forgiveness. Tubal pleads with Noah to forgive him and his people for not listening to him. Noah tells Tubal to order his people to start building their own boats, but Tubal knows that they'll never have enough boats in time for the flood. So Tubal makes a deal with Noah that him and 25 other people of his choosing will be allowed entry onto the flood while the rest of his people die. Noah agrees to this only to buy more time to finish the Ark. This exchange is handled much better than in the film, but then again their interaction is far great in the graphic novel. But this interaction will help with another key plot point.
When Ham meets Na'el in the graphic novel, it is the same as the film. However what sets it apart is that the survivors find them and plot to hold them ransom so that Noah will allow them on the Ark. That is when Tubal-Cain comes to Ham and Na'el's rescue! With his royal guard, he saves Ham and Na'el from his own people believing that Noah would still hold up his end of the deal. However upon arrival it became clear that this was not the case. And so feeling betrayed by Noah, he channels the rage of his people directly at Noah instead of him for abandoning them. This small act is what makes the interaction of Ham saving and aiding Tubal in the attempted murder of Noah on board the Ark much more plausible. In the film their interaction prior to working together on the Ark was a small exchange that doesn't plausibly explain why the two would respect each other. But if Na'el was allowed passage on the Ark, then why would Ham help him still?
Although she was allowed passage on the Ark when Tubal brings them, during the battle Noah deems that she needs to be removed. And so he coldly orders an angel to take her off the boat, with Noah's entire family watching in horror as he does this. It is unknown what happens to her, but it can only be referenced that she gets casted into the oncoming army. This displays the first signs of Noah's madness and exposes it to his family. That alone triggers a lot of distrust and would drive Ham to help Tubal in plotting the murder of his father.
In conclusion
It just makes more sense why Tubal-Cain is the villain that he is and why Ham would try to go about killing his father. And for those who believed that the Noah of the film was heartless, in the graphic novel he does indeed have a heart but his progression to madness is more gradual.
It is amazing that the director of the film could not even adapt faithfully his own graphic novel. And while I'm usually not a champion of the term "the book was better," in this instance I'd have to say that it clearly was.
