DIRECTOR: Garth Davis
LEAD CAST: Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix,
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tahar Rahim SCREENWRITER: Helen Edmundson, Philippa Goslett PRODUCER: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Liz
Watts EDITOR: Alexandre de Franceschi, Melanie Ann Oliver MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Hildur
Guðnadóttir, Jóhann Jóhannsson GENRE: historical
drama CINEMATOGRAPHER: Greig Fraser DISTRIBUTOR: Focus Features LOCATION:
United States, United Kingdom, Australia RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes
Technical
assessment: 3
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA
rating: V14
In the beginning,
Mary Magdalene is shown as an ordinary woman living on the shores of Galilee,
going about her daily duties of cleaning the fishnets and minding the
housework. But she is far from being
ordinary in that she—a lover of solitude—rejects the family tradition of women
getting married and becoming housewives and mothers in a patriarchal society. Then Jesus comes along—the son of the carpenter
from Nazareth who goes around with a bunch of followers from the working class,
teaching, preaching, healing—who asks her “Do you have the courage to follow
what you hear?” And then Mary leaves her unfulfilling life, believing she has
found meaning in following Him.
The film is well
meaning and intends to dump the overused image of Mary Magdalene as the former
prostitute who was converted into a spiritual groupie after being rid of seven
devils. The choice of Roony Mara as Mary—porcelain
complexion bereft of makeup, no sultry pouting lips, thank you—is deliberate,
for the actress could personify the I-mean-business feminism and strength of
character the director wants for this Magdalene. Mara’s performance is good, but fails to
touch the heart. She portrays Mary
Magdalene as an intelligent disciple, a chaste confidante of Jesus, but even
the scenes with the Savior often seem glassy and put on. Mara is more in her element when displaying spunk
in scenes with Peter the hothead (Ejiofor) and Judas the firebrand (Rahim). The cinematography deserves superlatives for
projecting the arid landscape in all its radiance. The production set gets kudos, too, for meticulously
bringing to life that particular time in history.
Whatever is said
of Mary Magdalene—from Scorsese to Pasolini to Lloyd-Weber—no one can deny her significant
role in salvation history. Whether one
subscribes to the idea of “sola scriptura” or welcomes the assertions of
apocryphal literature, Mary Magdalene—the woman who first saw Jesus’ empty tomb—stands
as witness to the truth that Christ does bring forgiveness and His friendship to
the humble, regardless of social status or gender.
