The Book of Clarence

➤Rated PG-13
➤Theaters

Director Jeymes Samuel has said he loves Hollywood’s Bible epics from the 1950s, movies like The Robe and Ben-Hur. But Samuel is also a British recording artist who goes by the stage name “The Bullitts.” His new film, The Book of Clarence, takes his various loves and mashes them together in a swords-and-­sandals hip-hop movie about faith that centers on the black experience.

The Book of Clarence takes place in A.D. 33, and the opening scene depicts the crucifixion of a number of criminals, one of whom happens to be Clarence, played by the talented LaKeith Stanfield. The movie immediately flashes back to tell the story of how the movie’s hero came to this painful fate.

Clarence is a hustler and minor drug dealer selling “lingon weed” on the dusty streets of “Lower Jerusalem.” He’s got ambition, but that ambition puts him sideways with a local mobster known as Jedediah the Terrible. Clarence has just a few days to repay the money he owes or else. After seeing Jesus of Nazareth walk through Jerusalem, Clarence gets some inspiration. Despite not actually believing in God, Clarence decides to embrace religion. Maybe posing as a messiah can get Clarence the money, power, and influence—as well as the girl—he desires.

The Book of Clarence is an irreverent comedy made in the spirit of Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and many of Samuel’s satirical updates focus on blackness. In this story, all the Jews of Jerusalem are black, while the Roman occupiers are all white. Black British actor Nicholas Pinnock plays Jesus as a wise and somber man with superpowers. White British actor James McAvoy plays Pontius Pilate as a Roman leader who is relatively uninterested in the various messiahs of Jerusalem but who nonetheless continues ­systematic oppression when called upon. The duplicitous Clarence gets caught in the middle, and in the process he learns something about faith.

The Book of Clarence is a little like its titular character, defying expectations and easy explanations. The movie mocks sacred cows, ­reveling in absurdities and anachronisms, and it replaces Jewish society with urban black culture. It earns its PG-13 rating with depictions of smoking and drug use—Clarence’s best friend is a stoner—and plenty of strong language. There are also a couple of scenes that feature suggestive dancing. But even without those elements, the beatings meted out by the Romans would have ­justified the rating.

While Life of Brian used its comedy to subvert religion, Samuel wants his satire to inspire faith. Despite the irreverence and inappropriate content, there’s a sincerity at the heart of The Book of Clarence. The apostles might seem dimwitted, but the Gospel writers portray them the same way. John the Baptist might be portrayed as a sharp-tongued, no-nonsense preacher who doesn’t tolerate religious fakery, but that seems accurate too. Samuel offers sly critiques of charlatan preachers of the prosperity gospel whose first priority is their own prosperity, and he wants the audience to take Christianity seriously when Clarence embarks on this journey from faithlessness to faithfulness. He shows that following Jesus requires suffering and sacrifice.

While I don’t doubt the sincerity of Samuel’s faith, the content of the faith he offers in this movie leaves something to be desired. Clarence does some bad things, but he’s depicted as someone with a “beautiful soul” who’s just trying to figure things out. Part of his journey is exploring the connection between belief and knowledge. It turns out ignorance, rather than sin, is humanity’s true problem, so what we need is more enlightenment rather than redemption. But if Jesus isn’t offering redemption, what is He doing in this movie? Samuel says that through faith in Jesus we learn that our dreams that seem out of reach might be attainable after all.

Despite some amusing scenes and strong performances, the gospel according to The Book of Clarence doesn’t look like “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”