Drab script makes drama not so 'Noble'
"Noble" tells the true story of Christina Noble, an Irish girl who grew up in an orphanage and went on to become an advocate for homeless children.
Born in 1944, she had a rough upbringing and a rougher early adulthood, but she managed to reinvent herself. After her children had grown up, Noble moved to Vietnam and rescued scores of street kids.
While the biopic hits all the highs and lows of the good Samaritan's life, the awkward, nonlinear storytelling and drab script make the movie less rousing than it should be.
The story jumps back and forth among three different threads. One details Noble's childhood, during which her mother dies and her alcoholic father loses custody of Noble and her siblings.
The girl (Gloria Cramer Curtis) ends up in a Catholic orphanage living under the care of stereotypically monstrous nuns.
The second story line follows Noble's early adulthood, which features yet another run-in with nuns, this time featuring the forcible adoption of a child who Noble (the tremendous Sarah Greene) conceived after being raped.
As if that's not bad enough, this section of the story also includes an abusive and philandering husband.
Despite the hardships, Noble is painted as a girl with an impressive supply of resourcefulness and spunk. She isn't afraid to deliver an obscene gesture to her cruelest nun guardian when she finally leaves the orphanage.
Nor does she hesitate to skip town on her husband, starting over from nothing with three small children.
In the third narrative, the oldest version of Noble (Deirdre O'Kane) has the grandest aspirations. Guided by little more than vivid dreams, possibly ordained by God, Noble sets out for Vietnam in 1989 to help children in need. In Vietnamese these children are called by a name that translates to "dust under foot," and most people either ignore them or prey on them.
But Noble is determined to give them the loving upbringing that she never had, in addition to housing, food and education.
For all its anti-nun messages, "Noble" is still a faith-based movie. Neither her bad experiences with the church nor her hard-knock life diminishes Noble's faith. She lights candles and often talks to God, if only to reprimand him for giving her another bad break.
The brightest moments come courtesy of Greene, who plays the 20-ish Noble. The actress has a knack for showing the character's edge while maintaining a glowing warmth, making these segments the most poignant.
The portion that takes place in Vietnam, for all its high stakes, doesn't have nearly the impact. Maybe that's because we know what's coming. But part of it is also O'Kane's fault.
The actress has plenty of experience, but her performance as the mature Noble falls surprisingly flat.
Despite all that, the final moments of the movie are quite moving, featuring a triumph against the odds that will surprise no one. Writer-director Stephen Bradley may make some missteps, but he capitalizes on this underdog story's inherent thrills.
“Noble”
★ ★ ½
Starring: Sarah Greene, Deirdra O'Kane, Brendan Coyle
Directed by: Stephen Bradley
Other: An Aspiration Media release. Rated PG-13 for sexual situations, violence. 100 minutes