Director: Christopher Spencer Producers: Roma Downey and Mark Burnett Screenplay: Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer, Colin Swash, Nic Young based on New Testament Narration: Keith David Cast: Diego Morgado, Roma Downey, Darwin Shaw Music: Lorne Balfe Cinematography: Rob Goldie Editing: Robert Hall Studio Lightworkers Media Distributor: 20th Century Fox Location: United States Running time: 138 minutes
Technical
assessment: 3
Moral
assessment: 3
CINEMA
rating: PG 13
Coming into a territory where superior films of the same genre have trod,
Son of God may find it difficult to
impress sophisticated viewers with its episodic treatment of the life of
Christ. Technically it will suffer
by comparison to the likes of Franco Zeffirelli’s television miniseries “Jesus
of Nazareth” (1977), and Mel
Gibson’s all-time blockbuster The
Passion of the Christ (2004).
While the miracles of Jesus almost take center stage here, somehow their
portrayal lacks the jaw-dropping magnificence of the divine and the
supernatural combined. The rising
of Lazarus from the dead doesn’t grip the heart—instead it just looks like…
well, like over-aged students acting at a high school drama. Jesus walking on the water? So cheesy it mocks the real thing. The multiplication of the bread and
fish—aw, enough! There’s something
amiss in these and in many other scenes so that most of the movie feels like a
movie, period. Does the
cinematography lack imagination?
Are mere trainees in charge of CGI? Is the dialogue, the delivery of the lines, the director, or
the music at fault? Is the culprit
the viewer-friendly Jesus, the Portuguese model-turned-actor Morgado? Maybe he smiles too much or reminds the
viewer of Marlon Brando and Brad Pitt so that he fails as a worthy communicator
of divine action—but to young viewers he will most likely come across as a cool
Jesus. So cool one couldn’t warm
up to his agony on the cross.
There are also little things that tend to unsettle a discriminating
viewer, like that first appearance of Jesus to the apostles after the
resurrection. We are told that the
disciples, out of fear, locked themselves inside a room with doors shut, and
that Jesus appeared in their midst.
In Son of God, this episode
shows Jesus walking through an open door, smiling, and showing them the CGI hole
in his hand. Another one: Jesus
was buried in a new tomb in a garden, right? Here his grave is something like a cave in the middle of a
desert. Et cetera, et cetera.
This is not to say that Son of God
has absolutely nothing worth seeing about it. Despite its disappointing (technical) flaws, it is
still a good introduction to the life of Jesus Christ. It is an earnest production, for
one. The lead cast—Greg Hicks as
Pontius Pilate, Adrian Schiller as Caiphas, Joe Wredden as Judas, Roma Downey
as Mary, Amber Rose Revah as Mary Magdalene—carry out their roles with sincerity
and passion. Even the extras
appear dead serious about their bit parts. The apparent conviction behind the performance of the cast
is Son of God’s saving grace—the
actors all seem to believe they are engaged in a laudable project, and that is
enough to make believing viewers feel it’s a worthy reminder to have in an
increasingly irreligious world.
An added surprise is the prominence given to Mary from beginning to end
in this supposedly non-Catholic production. That it highlighted the mystery of the incarnation, focused all
throughout on the closeness between Mary and her son Jesus, and featured CeeLo
Green’s moving song “Mary Did You Know” as the credits rolled in the end speaks
volumes about the quiet work the Mother of God does in the hearts of her
children.
While CINEMA gives Son of God
a PG 13, parents are advised to shield younger children from the possibly
frightening effects of the violence in this movie.
