‘THE BOOK OF CLARENCE’ is more than a comedy

LAKEITH STEINFELD STARS as the title character, Clarence, in The Book of Clarence.

Before I get started, I want to let you know there isn’t a Book of Clarence in the Bible. Believe it or not, some people have asked that question. Also, while this is billed as a comedy, you should watch the film with an open mind to see the realities of the subject.

Summary in the blink of an EYE: The year is 33 AD, the place Jerusalem.

Clarence lives in the low end of Jerusalem with his mother. He is a hustler and has no respect for much of anything. He sells drugs, steals, is an atheist and does not believe in anything he can’t see. He is convinced Jesus is performing tricks to gain followers. He and his homie and best friend Elijah set out to prove Jesus is a fake and he is the new Messiah.

Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) and his mother (Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste) live a struggling existence. He has borrowed money from a loan shark, Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi-Abrefa), and to pay him back he takes on Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor) in a chariot race, which he loses. Clarence also has another problem; he is in love with Jedediah’s sister, Varinia (Anna Diop), who is out of his class.

Clarence’s twin brother Thomas (LaKeith Stanfield) left home to follow the Messiah Jesus and is one of the twelve Apostles. Clarence gets the bright idea to become the 13th Apostle so he can learn all of Jesus’ “tricks” and make money to pay back his loan. Thomas is not very loving to his brother and feels Clarence is a low life, unreliable, and he turns his back on Clarence, as do the other Apostles. Judas Iscariot (Micheal Ward) challenges Clarence to do a good deed and free the enslaved gladiators to become an Apostle. You can guess how that turns out.

Clarence decides he will be the new Messiah, preaching knowledge over faith and by performing fake tricks, and he is quite successful. He follows his path in this method but along the way discovers himself.

The casting on this film is spot on. All the cast members, except for the Romans, are people of color with different accents. I loved this because it represented to me the various places Africans landed during the Transatlantic Slave Trade then and now.

The Romans are all white and profile the people of low Jerusalem with false charges of crimes. Sound familiar?

Clarence is a man who does not know his own worth, and all his life people have reaffirmed to him that he is nothing, will never be anything, and does not deserve to excel or succeed in life.

Why I love this film:

The casting is genius. LaKeith Stanfield plays the duo roles of Clarence and his twin brother Thomas. I have always liked LaKeith as an actor, after this film he ranks in my top 10. He takes us through Clarence’s journey with different levels of intensity that are not over the top but full of emotions. His portrayal of his twin brother Thomas is so different from Clarence you believe they are two totally different people.

RJ Cyler as Elijah is Clarence’s ride or die best friend. RJ takes this role and without overshadowing gives Elijah his own story and his relationship to Clarence.

James McAvoy as Pontius Pilate is funny, yet as a Roman leader has an edge. I got the feeling that even though he was supposed to crucify all people claiming to be the Messiah, he would have let Clarence go.

One of the characters who didn’t get much promo attention is Jesus, played smoothly by Nicholas Pinnock. I read that he was left out of pre-promos because the powers that be wanted the focus on Clarence. It worked!

One of the scenes that is so well done is the crucifixion scene and Clarence carrying his cross to the Mount. It is powerful, serious and reflective.

Written, directed and produced by Jeymes Samuel, “The Book of Clarence” is many layered and told very well. He touches on so many ingrained issues of the Black community, one being if it’s white, it’s right.

I suggest you see THE BOOK OF CLARENCE in theaters. Don’t compare Jesus’ timeline to Clarence. To help you out, Clarence finds his fate three days before Jesus makes the walk.

I give THE BOOK OF CLARENCE 4 winks out of 5 winks of the EYE.

Until next time, keep your EYE to the sky!