It seems funny that even after all these years people can’t agree how we got here. Surely everyone knows that we were all delivered by Storks from a baby factory out in Infantland? Someone who had a rather different theory was Charles Darwin. This film concentrates on the period where Darwin found himself wrestling with his controversial ideas before writing the seminal The Origin of Species.

Living in his idyllic abode Down House with his wife Emma (Jennifer Connolly) and children, Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) appears to have it all. Not only does he have the unconditional love of his family, but admiration amongst his peers. He’s mentally torn apart however, whilst working on his theory of natural selection; it’s the ultimate battle between science and religion, with science winning by a knockout. So much so that a colleague Thomas Huxley (Toby Jones) declared that he had killed God.

For Darwin though, it wasn’t that great an accolade, especially when you consider his wife’s religious beliefs. Things go from bad to worse with the death of his daughter Annie (Martha West). Darwin the scientist soon finds himself at odds with Darwin the husband and father. He is soon wrecked, both physically and mentally, by wave after wave of guilt and grief.

You think you've got problems, I turned down a remake of Every Which Way But Loose for this.

To a certain extent, Creation has the ability of making the audience feel torn while watching it. The cinematography is certainly most pleasing to the eye, but there’s something missing that stops it from reaching its full potential; that missing something is drama.

Bettany is charming as Darwin, albeit in a rather Dr Doolittle kind of way. Connelly though – his real-life wife – appears to struggle in the role; not only does her English accent appear to stray off in the direction South Africa from time to time, her character also seems to have arrived via the Amish community a la Witness. Ironically, there just isn’t any on screen chemistry between the pair. In fact, Bettany’s relationship with his daughter Annie (West), is far warmer and more believable.

The narrative is also a little confusing to follow at times. With scenes he shares with Annie, it’s never quite clear if what we’re seeing is dead Annie or Alive Annie; not only do the pair look alike (naturally), but the audience is left in the dark as to whether it’s actually a vision suffered by Darwin, or simply a flashback. This is surprising considering Brit Jon Amiel’s directing pedigree that has included Sommersby, Entrapment and even a couple episodes of The Tudors.

To add insult to injury, the entire cast are upstaged by an Orang-utan, and it doesn’t even have to wear a silly costume.

If only Creation had the semblance of a backbone; instead its flaky existence is only just saved by some beautiful locations that, along with its soundtrack, are eerily reminiscent of The Piano, just sadly nowhere near as captivating.