VIDEO SOURCE: Amazon Prime
I had read about Charles Darwin 'way back when' I was in school. Upon watching this biographical movie from BBC, it dawned on me that while he had a nice family and enjoyed their company, he was sick most of his adult life as was his eldest daughter Annie. Tragically, Annie dies and Charles goes mad. He sees Annie again and again (hallucinations!) post death; if the director/doctors are to be believed ( this might be a license that the director takes to show his mental instability) ! There was some confusion for me at this point because of the juxtaposition of scenes which seem to go back and forth in time.
It must have been the physical contact with birds and other species - however pretty they appear from a distance - that caused him to be physically ill. The old hydro bath treatment, in lieu of a waterfall , is interesting to watch. Then there is the argument between church, religion and the jungle law, which tilts in favor of 'survival of the fittest', well illustrated in the movie by the preying upon of a rabbit by a fox and the scene of a helpless baby bird that falls from a tree and gets eaten by insects. The movie also shows the conflict between rational Charles and his religious wife - how easy it is for Charles Darwin to justify the killing of the rabbit and the baby bird as part of the food chain and how difficult it is to bear the loss of his own child !!
However, in the end Charles finishes his landmark 'Origin Of Species' and his wife becomes his admirer. After watching the movie, it is hard for me to believe that a scientific mind like Darwin could be so broken up and unstable...yet come up with the theory of progression of species on earth from the sea to the land .
I had read about Charles Darwin 'way back when' I was in school. Upon watching this biographical movie from BBC, it dawned on me that while he had a nice family and enjoyed their company, he was sick most of his adult life as was his eldest daughter Annie. Tragically, Annie dies and Charles goes mad. He sees Annie again and again (hallucinations!) post death; if the director/doctors are to be believed ( this might be a license that the director takes to show his mental instability) ! There was some confusion for me at this point because of the juxtaposition of scenes which seem to go back and forth in time.
It must have been the physical contact with birds and other species - however pretty they appear from a distance - that caused him to be physically ill. The old hydro bath treatment, in lieu of a waterfall , is interesting to watch. Then there is the argument between church, religion and the jungle law, which tilts in favor of 'survival of the fittest', well illustrated in the movie by the preying upon of a rabbit by a fox and the scene of a helpless baby bird that falls from a tree and gets eaten by insects. The movie also shows the conflict between rational Charles and his religious wife - how easy it is for Charles Darwin to justify the killing of the rabbit and the baby bird as part of the food chain and how difficult it is to bear the loss of his own child !!
However, in the end Charles finishes his landmark 'Origin Of Species' and his wife becomes his admirer. After watching the movie, it is hard for me to believe that a scientific mind like Darwin could be so broken up and unstable...yet come up with the theory of progression of species on earth from the sea to the land .
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