Yes, sometime this year, we will get to see two talented actors, Paul Bettany (Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind) and Jennifer Connelly (who was the young girl in Labyrinth, and also in A Beautiful Mind, for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar), portray Darwin and his wife in the new film Creation. As this year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth (who, I believe, also shared a birthday with Abraham Lincoln), the producers have impeccable timing.

Also impeccable casting. Bettany and Connelly happen to be married in real life. And I have great faith in Bettany’s ability with this type of material: if you have never seen his turn as Darwin-class naturalist and British naval physician Dr. Stephen Maturin (who happens to get to (briefly) visit the Galapagos where he’s stunned by the diversity) in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Run, Do Not Walk. Ohhhhhh, Dr. Maturin. I’d sort your collection any time.

I am heartened by the above trailer. Finally we will have a movie that maturely deals with some pretty sticky and intersecting subjects: science, faith, and love. These are subjects that many sober-minded people find themselves painfully grappling with even today. If it’s half as good as it looks, I can’t wait.

Release is scheduled for some time this year, though the date has not been  named. Together with The Young Victoria (if they’ll ever give it a #$*@! U.S. release date!), I think we are in for a whole lot of Victorian goodness this year.