Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Mary Magdalene


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.