The Book of Clarence

Like the fake messiah at its centre, The Book of Clarence has rollicking, lively energy – but it’s hard to believe in.

A raucous stoner comedy dressed as an earnest Bible story, or actually the other way around.

With a cast this talented there will always be decent moments, but they never cohere. Credit for its casting and design, but it’s not the movie messiah, just a very disappointing mess.

Stanfield’s dropout charisma can cushion a role fine, but can’t make this one very interesting.

The film is definitely a comedy, and a lot of the jokes work. But the three chapters or “books” that Samuel divides the film into aren’t evenly weighted. While the first two acts zip by... [the third] drags.

I thought it was well done in a lot of ways, but also kind of confounding in a lot of ways.

I didn't connect with this at all. While I did enjoy parts of the first act, this overlong movie turned me off midway through and never won me back.

Inconsistent tone and slow pacing dilute the talent onscreen. Even with a solid payout in the end and a solid performance by LaKeith Stanfield, this film's vision is too clouded to enjoy.

All things considered, I enjoyed The Book of Clarence, a film that plays with the convention of its genre, innovating and envisioning what a biblical epic film can look like in 2023

Wherever he goes from here, having put his unique spin on both the Western and the Biblical epic, Jeymes Samuel is bound to further expand his unique and daring vision in ways not many of us will have thought of before.