The Harder They Fall director Jeymes Samuel goes biblical in his second feature film, which follows a con artist who finds faith and salvation in Christ. The Book of Clarence takes place in Jerusalem circa 33 AD. LaKeith Stanfield plays the titular Clarence and his twin brother, Thomas, an apostle of Jesus. Clarence, with the help of his sidekick Elijah (RJ Cyler), pretends to be a new messiah. They’ll scam the desperate poor to repay their debt to a gangster; it seems like the perfect plan, until Elijah and Clarence realize that Jesus isn’t a fraud.

Stanfield and Cyler, both stars of Samuel’s The Harder They Fall, “were happy to reunite” with the filmmaker. “When you find someone who is not scared to take chances in their craft, it motivates you to do the same,” says Cyler. Stanfield agrees that Samuel “is one of those special directors” and “you immediately know that this is going to be unique, and that no matter how that film might turn out, the process is going to be beautiful.” Stanfield “felt safe to perform.” He knew that “the final product is something we can be proud of.”

The Book of Clarence begins on a humorous note but takes a powerfully dramatic turn as the cruel Pontius Pilate (James McAvoy) horrifically subjugates Christians. Stanfield “genuinely felt sad” for Clarence, saying, “I was closely allied with his journey and what he had gone through. That’s what’s at the heart of the film. We have to go through hard things to get the answers.” Cyler believes that “Elijah grows in the same way,” but “confirms his faith through supporting Clarence” and finding “redemption” through that experience. Read on and watch above for our complete interview with LaKeith Stanfield and RJ Cyler.

Jeymes Samuel’s Beautiful Process
The Book of Clarence Release Date January 12, 2024 Director Jeymes Samuel Runtime 2hr 16min Writers Jeymes Samuel

MovieWeb: Peace be with you brothers [a reference from the film]. I loved The Harder They Fall. You’re both working again with writer/director Jeymes Samuel in his story of biblical Black representation. Talk about this experience.

RJ Cyler: It was great. Shooting with James again, being able to have his creativity lead me and my creativity, is just like another blessing. When you find someone who is not scared to take chances in their craft, it motivates you to do the same when you’re working alongside them. And then, the ensemble becomes just a depiction of ‘the greatness of the gods,’ as Jeymes was saying.

LaKeith Stanfield: Peace to the gods. Yeah, it was beautiful to reunite with James. He’s one of those special directors that you work with. And you immediately know that this is going to be unique, and that no matter how the film might turn out, the process is going to be beautiful. We’re just so lucky with this film that both the process and the final product is something we can be proud of. I think we owe a lot of that to Jeymes for steering the ship, putting together the team, relentlessly working to make sure that we all felt safe to perform, and that we felt heard with our concerns. And so yeah, it was a beautiful experience, man. It was dope as usual.

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MW: The Book of Clarence is so moving. It starts off irreverent and very funny. You think this is going to be maybe more upbeat, lighthearted. But then, as both of your characters find salvation in Jesus Christ, it takes a gut punch. The crucifixion scene is really tough to see. Talk about making that emotional arc. How did you guys handle that on set?

RJ Cyler: How did you handle that?

LaKeith Stanfield: I think I practiced silence, silent reflection, kind of getting away from the noise a little bit. In silence, you make noise. And it’s the same thing with big emotions, you want to just focus in, and kind of create a focus point. And really just sort of bring forth the truth in you as much as you can.

For the character, I genuinely felt sad to have to go through what I went through in the film. There are a lot of things we sacrifice for. So I can identify with that. This was the biggest sacrifice of all. The conditions that we were working in made it a little bit more seamless to transition into the character, the cross. I don’t know if I should say that, but the cross I was carrying was actually heavy.

LaKeith Stanfield: My feet were actually hitting the ground on the cobblestone street and it hurt. It was a long trek upward, an incline. That wasn’t a camera trick. I was actually walking up the incline, actually slipping, hitting my knees. It’s because I declined safety stuff (laughs). It’s not because it wasn’t offered. Because I wanted to feel it. I took my shoes off because I wanted to feel the ground. If you’re going to be there, you should probably feel what it feels like. So I was closely allied with Clarence and his journey and what he had gone through, it’s coming of age, he’s coming to himself. And really, that’s what’s at the heart of the film. It’s about this guy who’s finding himself, and finding his assuredness in life rather than asking so many questions, which we all do. Sometimes we have to go through hard things to get the answers.

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Let’s Burn it Down with Smiles on Our Faces

RJ Cyler: Yeah, that’s true. I feel like Elijah grows in the same way as Clarence does, but plants himself. His journey needs much more. Elijah still has to find… Elijah doesn’t have a plan, you feel me? His only plan is to support Clarence’s plan, because Clarence’s plan has a clear view of what the vision would be, right? So Elijah confirms his faith through supporting Clarence’s plan, if that makes sense. Because he’s not a non-believer, but Elijah’s confirmation comes through watching Clarence find redemption through these things, these tactics that Clarence has. But that’s Elijah’s boy. Elijah really does find redemption through Clarence’s experience. Clarence is the proof that God is real. Elijah needed that, to be honest.

LaKeith Stanfield: You know what’s interesting too, with Elijah, is that he was sort of the catalyst for what allowed the group to make money and come to fame. He also was the catalyst for the truth, in a moment where Clarence didn’t want to accept the truth. I remember that scene where you came up, and it’s Elijah’s time to be like, ‘I’m going to tell you what the truth is, whether you want to hear it or not.’ Clarence really needed that. I think those are things that are markers of why Elijah was so important. Without friends who are gonna keep it real, tell you what you need to hear, you falter and fail invariably. So we needed that truth, and it helped us get to the ultimate truth.

RJ Cyler: But along with that truth that he presented, he didn’t make Clarence feel like his journey was wrong, you feel me? Rather than being like, ‘No, we should do it this way,’ it’s more like, ‘Look, I’m going to give you the truth. But do you want to listen to it or not? I got you big dog. Yeah, you’re gonna burn the house down. Let’s burn it down with some nice smiles on our faces and loyalty.’

The Book of Clarence will be released theatrically on January 12th from Sony Pictures.