Working out the Moral Premise of LEVITY
Stan Williams, Ph.D.
Let me say at the outset that LEVITY is rated R for strong language. But the movie is ripe with Judeo-Christian themes and values, specifically the importance of truth and our labor for redemption.
Good stories have a moral premise, or central theme upon which all significant narrative elements are focused. Ninety percent of all motion picture box office successes, have a moral premise, or theme, that is not only valid (e.g. agrees with Judeo-Christian values) but also is consistently applied scene-by-scene and character-by-character. The combination of a morally valid story with solid production values (the two are not necessarily related) is almost always a indication that the movie will be a box office success in its genre.
A recent example of this is Ed Solomon's LEVITY, a Sony Classics release staring Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, and Kristen Dunst. Recently, I had an opportunity to preview the film and talk with Ed about it.
When I asked Ed what the moral premise of LEVITY was, he responded: , "I never thought of it in those terms." And when I asked him about his religious upbringing he replied, "I'm not Christian. I was raised Jewish. I do have a daily meditation practice, but I'm not Buddhist. I wouldn't call myself anything."
Good filmmakers do not have to understand or articulate how a valid and true moral premise or theme is structured into a movie, but they must be able to do it...if only by instinct. And Ed Solomon's ability to execute such a valid vision, as the film's writer-producer-director, should be welcome by all.
So, I thought it would be interesting to examine the film, and see if I couldn't articulate the moral premise of what will be undoubtedly a favorite film for decades to come among critical scholars with a moral bent.
LEVITY is the story about protagonist MANUAL JORDAN (Billy Bob Thornton) who after being incarcerated for 23 years for the murder of a young convenience store clerk during a robbery, is given an early release from prison, and thereafter seeks redemption for his crime.
As he's released from prison, Manual recalls five steps required to achieve redemptionÑsomething he's read in a book by a medieval scholar[1]
1. Acknowledge what it was that you did.
2. Feel remorse for your actions.
3. Make right with your neighbor through restitution.
4. Make it right with God.
5. Be in the same place and time and do something different to prove that steps 3 and 4 were done sincerely.
Manual rationalizes, even fears, that because he doesn't believe in God, step 4 is impossible, and because time guarantees he will never in the same place at the same time, step 5 is also impossible. Therefore he will never be redeemed.
But in numerous ways the movie suggests that Manual is wrong. For instance, MILES EVANS (Morgan Freeman) asks Manual, "Why are you afraid of a God you don't believe in?" And when Manual asks ADELE EASLEY (Holly Hunter) if she thinks there is a God, she responds, "No. Thank, God."
Thus, the protagonist's goals are established and made reasonable: (1) To find explicit and physical redemption through restitution; and (2) to find implicitly and spiritually redemption through forgiveness.
Looking for the moral premise in a well-structured movie is often simply a matter of finding an emphatic line or two spoken by the protagonist in a scene during the Denouement. But in LEVITY we need to examine the words and decisions of both the protagonist, Manual, and those of the co-protagonist and co-antagonist, Miles.
Manual Jordan, is a man who seeks to be well (his name is pronounced "man-well"). He wants to cross the figurative Jordan River, into the promised land of levity and freedom. Or to use a Christian or John the Baptist metaphor, to be baptized in the Jordan River and have his sins washed away. Manual's name also elicits the vision of manual labor and hard work. St. Paul, says "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13). Certainly, this movie says redemption is not automatic.
On the other hand, Miles Evans is a man who hopes to evade the truth and put miles between him and the police. Here is a man who at first appears to be a tough-love preacher of noble intent. But little by little we learn that we don't know Miles Evans at all, for he is constantly on the run from both temporal and spiritual authority.
Applying the five steps to each of these characters, (1) Manual readily acknowledges his sin, and (2) he experiences a deep remorse. Miles, however, evades the truth and any remorse. Both men try to make it right with (3) their neighbor and (4) with God. But, Manual is sincere, confronts the truth, and tries to make restitution in private; while Miles is insincere, evades the truth, and tries to make restitution in public. In the end, it is Manual that is allowed to (5) physically and spiritually experience a kind of recreation of his crime so he can make a better choice. But, Miles runs from any chance of facing Gabriel's trumpet and chooses the same worn path.
Looking to the parables of Christ, the story of Manual and Miles is a modern day example of the humble Tax Collector and the proud Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). Both were sinners, but only one went home justified. Indeed, Manual's two nicknames are "Righteous" and "God-Boy."
LEVITY's moral premise is hinted at by Miles as he gives advice to Manual. But, because of Miles' refusal to even seek redemption, his words need to be held up to a mirror. Here are a few of the significant occurrences.
At the end of Act One, when Miles says to Manual, "I believe in the lie. Never underestimate its power." Manual understands this to mean "Believe in the truth. Never underestimate it's power."
Later on, Manual chides Miles for smoking pot and not being entirely straight forward with the juveniles he's purportedly trying to help. Miles defends himself by saying, "Sometimes you have to transgress a little yourself to help the greater good." But to Manual this means, "Never transgress even a little."
And finally, Mile's last advice to Manual, "Lie to others, man. Don't lie to yourself," is interpreted by Manual as, "Don't ever lie to anyone."
Throughout the movie, when Manual has a choice, he chooses the opposite of Miles' advice. Manual's choices results in his freedom, and he begins to re-enter the worldÑwalking with the common man and not against the tide of humanity. But, the opposite is true of Miles.
Taking all of this together, here are a couple articulations of the movie's moral premise that is consistently portrayed in scene after scene and in each of the main character arcs: "Self-truth leads to freedom; self-deception leads to slavery;" or "Truth leads to levity, but deception leads to despair."
Despite Ed Solomon's claim that, "the movie isn't trying to be religious" there is one scene that points to a moral premise that implies God's transcendence.
Manual stands on a vehicular overpass as he reflects on his life. As he does so, he drops clumps of snow that smash on the concrete sidewalk below. As he does this he sees a vision of Abner, the young man he killed years earlier, who asks Manual what he is thinking about. Manual responds, "Gravity." Abner replies, "Yeah. Well, it don't last long." And the next clump of snow released from Manual's hand sores toward the heavens and out of sight.
To me, this scene speaks volumes. It says that Manual's presuppositions about God's existence are wrong, as is the impossibility of his redemption. Up until this point, Manuals' perception of both redemption and reality is tied to the physical laws of this world, and the crushing, determinism that gravity seems to demand.
If you trust only in yourself and the laws that can be physically perceived, there is no redemption; you'll be smashed like a clump of snow on the concrete below. That is the problem with not believing in the benevolence of a transcendent God. As long as Manual does not believe in God's love, he is dammed like the clump of snow that falls. He is forever bound to temporal rules of nature.
But then appears AbnerÑsomeone who in death knows what is beyond in the realm of eternity. Abner tells Manual such ideas (gravity) "don't last long." Suddenly, gravity is selectively suspended, the clump of snow soars, defying gravity, and points to the presence of faith, hope, and the transcendence of redemption that is ultimately possible...even for Manual.
This concept of transcendence is also reinforced by Miles when he tells Manual, "Do you think God doesn't know where you're at? He knows because he's God."
So another way, perhaps the more accurate way, to articulate LEVITY's moral premise might be this: "Trusting only in man's perception of the universe leads to despair and destruction, but trusting in God's transcendent perception of the universe leads to hope and redemption."