Mary Magdalene

I went to see The Passion Of Christ when it came out in the cinema in 2004. It was a fine film, but horrifically violent and one I'm sure I'll never watch again but I'm glad I watched it. I made the mistake of mentioning it on twitter once. One of those horrible die hard atheists jumped on the tweet. "Are you religious" they asked? "Not in the slightest" I replied. "Why would you go and see it then" they asked. "I dunno, I don't believe in vampires either but that isn't going to stop me from watching a Christopher Lee film" I replied. He of course blocked me. I tell this story to stave off any silly questions of why I'd go to see this film.

Mary was a young Jewish woman who worked with her fisherman family in Judea in the year 33. When  she shuns her family's choice of a husband they assume she has the devil in her and in trying to cure her bring her into contact with a man who can allegedly perform miracles, Jesus Christ. This encounter changes the course of Mary's life. But not in the way we were taught.

Mary Magdalene is a fine film and one that's well acted by everyone involved. One big issue aside i liked it a lot more than expected. It takes a tale that's been told a thousand times and adds a modern touch to it. The Mary Magdalene portrayed in this film is light years from the Mary Magdalene we learned about in school and Rooney Mara brings her to life wonderfully. This is a woman that radiates warmth and humanity and empathy. She gives the film a warm beating heart and the rest of the pieces of the story fall into place around her. Director Garth Davis (Lion) has a fine eye for the visuals too. A striking scene of a woman sinking slowly into the depths of a lake. The fantastic recreation of Christ era Jerusalem and it's crowds deep in religious fervour and those stunning wide angle shots of the landscape that zoom in on the people within them.

The film's take on Jesus is slightly different to what we've seen before too. The perpetual suffering is present and correct but Joaquin Phoenix's take on him is as askew as you'd expect from him. A little bit cracked, a little bit unnerving. The kind of beardy chap you'd hate to see walking towards you on a bus. But as always he's good and creates a character who's totally believable as a person people would flock too.

It skips a lot of the story though and people not familiar may find some of it a touch confusing, especially the motivations of one major character. My other criticism is one that is perennial with this story. The white washing. It happens everytime a film version of this story is made and it seems like filmmakers never learn. Phoenix's Christ is just about passable as he is 90% beard but Mara's Mary is so pale she's nearly transparent. In some scenes she stands out like a sore thumb.

These annoyances aside director Garth Davis has made a fine film about women's place in religion and how much things haven't really changed for them in 2000 years. It's deep stuff, thoughtful and in places fierce emotional. Thankfully it eschews the horrors of The Passion Of The Christ too and leaves it's violence only barely hinted at. It's a humane film that will move you if you let it.