It is a set-up that is all too familiar to us – an eccentric professional in one of the many sciences that attempt to answer all of life’s most difficult questions decides that he is going to pursue something nearly impossible, against the wishes of his superiors and other trusted voices that express their dissent and refusal to support such an endeavour, and instead enlists the help of a couple of unexpected colleagues that are drawn from outside the industry, but prove to be smarter and more worthy of the time than anyone else, their companionship being the driving force behind the narrative. There is not particularly revolutionary about Creator, nor is there any aspect that demands our attention – but where the film does thrive is in those moments that seemingly pass by with very little fanfare, which prove to be the most profound. Written by Jeremy Leven(making his screenwriting debut by adapting his novel) and directed by Ivan Passer, who is certainly deviating from his days as one of the formative voices in the history of the Czech New Wave by taking a wild gamble on an endearing, broadly comical Hollywood romantic comedy, Creator is a film with many wonderful aspects that may not be unique or particularly revolutionary but have a distinct place in the era in which it was made, representing this sub-genre of easygoing, charming comedies that don’t do anything all that serious, but at least offer a decent amount of entertainment, which is valuable in itself, especially for a film that’s greatest intentions were to offer a relatively consistent and meaningful blend of romance and comedy, interweaving them into a delightful and very funny lark of a film.

Perhaps the reason Creator has proven to be so divisive comes in the fact that it isn’t entirely sure of what it intends to do – it has a relatively simple premise, but not enough space to develop all of its ideas, so it is only logical that a couple of themes will get lost in the shuffle, but where the remnants of other sub-plots and potential developments aren’t elided from the final product, which gives the film a jagged feeling that comes across out of place in this specific story. Passer is certainly not someone whose credentials we need to question, but perhaps understanding his decision to make such a film, which feels almost anonymous in terms of its directorial prowess, can help us understand precisely what it is that makes Creator so unconventional, even though it was trying to be as reliable as several other comedies from this era, many of which serve to be the foundation for this style of traditional storytelling, which was very common amongst these mainstream comedies that had bold premises but had to target a section of the audience that was perhaps not interested in more challenging storylines. There is only so much that a film like this can achieve in a mere 100 minutes, and Passer seems to constantly be presented with decisions towards what he should keep and what should be dismissed, which is not a particularly pleasant scenario for any director, especially one that did have precise control of his craft, but not in a way that felt forced. It’s a very interesting story, but it needed a more focused storyline, rather than one that meanders in several different directions, each one being more peculiar than the last, amounting to a serviceable film, but one that we can only lament on the potential lost in the process of trying to compress everything into a single coherent narrative, which doesn’t work in the way that we’d hope, based on our experiences with this film.

Hollywood has always had a fascination with taking a comedic premise and trying to find an actor on which the entire film can hinge, their name being synonymous with quality and elegance, which would hopefully carry over into the audience’s perception of the film as a whole. At the time in which Creator was made, Peter O’Toole was in a peculiar stage of his career – he was revered as arguably the finest British actor of his generation but had shown very little hesitance in accepting several roles that were far beneath his talents or time, mainly choosing to do them for the quick paycheque. As a result, we didn’t always get performances that were as sophisticated and spirited as some of his better work – but when you are as magnetic a performer as O’Toole, this bears very little relevance, since he is always entertaining to watch. Creator offers him a compelling character in theory, which he does carry over into the rest of the film, helping take a glorified supporting role and make it into the heart of the film. Playing the dedicated scientist intent on cloning his late wife, he elevates the role far beyond that of the quack archetype, showing the role of Harry Wolper as being one that is complex and well-constructed, even if the film around him isn’t all that interested in shading in his more intriguing nuances. O’Toole’s co-stars vary in the impact they make – Virginia Madsen is resplendent as ever, creating a memorable portrait of a young woman trying to make sense of the world, while Mariel Hemingway does her best to bring a sense of complexity to a one-dimensional character, but there is only so much that can be done before it becomes a pointless exercise. The only genuinely bad performance comes on behalf of Vincent Spano, who truly struggles to live up to his responsibilities as the emotional heart of the film, as well as its de facto lead, leaving the brunt of the work to the rest of the cast.

Ultimately, Creator is a film with many unique ideas, but they get lost in the shuffle of trying to balance all of them, which is not particularly encouraging for a narrative that essentially had to reconcile only two genres. Some thematic threads don’t quite compute when put together – O’Toole’s character is obsessed with the concept of “the big picture”, which is referencing the concept of religion, something that is almost absent from many more conventional films that centre on science, the two seemingly being incompatible in well-documented ways. This is perhaps where Creator stumbles the most since simply acknowledging that the two can exist in communion is not enough, and any self-respecting film would put more effort into the storyline than just mentioning its intentions, rather than exploring them in meaningful ways. This is where Creator could have been most improved, especially if it had chosen to prioritize the correlation between the clear faith felt by some of the characters with their scientific pursuit, over the less compelling storylines that focus on every intimate detail in the relationship between the endearing characters but the definition of lacking substance, especially in comparison to the more intriguing ideas that the film introduces but never follows through on, which creates an uneven narrative, and a tone that is just as frustrating. It doesn’t distract from the merits in a way that feels like it tarnishes the impact being made by the film, but it doesn’t feel nearly as compelling as it perhaps should have in theory.

Creator is a pleasant and charming comedy that has a few minor shortcomings, which may prevent it from being anything impressive, but not enough to entirely remove all sense of goodwill, which is passable for a film such as this, which never aspired to be anything revolutionary or groundbreaking. Passer was something of a pioneer, so his choice to have this amongst his otherwise very interesting filmography was peculiar, but not wholly strange, since many fascinating ideas simmer beneath the surface of the film. Perhaps the onus is on the viewer to manage expectations – we have to temper our enthusiasm and know that a film like this never aims to be all that experimental, and exists mainly to offer some degree of entertainment more than anything else. It doesn’t function as too much more than a couple of hours of decently diverting comedy, and it doesn’t show any intention that suggests otherwise. There may not be a lot of detail, and the film may stumble in ways that could have been easily preventable with a more concise, direct attention to detail. However, for what it is worth, Creator delivers on most (if not all) of its basic promises, which is undoubtedly sufficient for a film such as this. Funny, charming and filled with lovely romance and a few strong performances, the film is as entertaining as it can be, offering an enjoyable experience that gives us a momentary break from reality, introducing a few compelling concepts without being defined by them, and ultimately just being as lovely as it could be, considering the clear limitations that drove a lot of the film, but mercifully didn’t define it in any way that could be misconstrued as too severe of a flaw, which is an important distinction to be made throughout this film.