Long before Joseph of Nazareth reveals himself to be an action hero, saving the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus from rapacious Romans, the not-entirely-Biblical, not-exactly historical bio-pic “Mary” has lost its way.
It’s not the great Sir Anthony Hopkins overplaying King Herod, chewing the scenery like his mentor Laurence Olivier, or the angel Gabriel (Dudley O’Shaughnessy), dolled up as “the man in blue robes” like an extra from “Dune,” that start the eye rolling. All the horses and fancy coaches that replace donkeys as impoverished ancient Hebrew transport, the way all of Judea got the memo that Mary is “the Chosen One” on tap to deliver “The Chosen One,” a Messiah, “King of the Jews,” who will deliver the Jews from Roman rule can take one out of the picture, too.
B-thriller specialist D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia,” “Eagle Eye,” “I Am Number Four”) directed, and leans into the intrigues and dangers in “Jesus: The Prequel.” But when the first-feature-film-credit screenwriter describes himself on the Internet Movie Database as “best known for his work in elevated historical spaces,” you know you’re not in the best hands.
Modern “Money Changer in the Temple” Joel Osteen produced this lavish spectacle built around a largely unknown Israeli and international cast, and saddled them with a cluttered, meandering script that was sure to be scrutinized, a screenplay written by somebody with no apparent gifts for organizing a narrative that had to include brutal repression, sadistic Roman violence and Jewish insurgents, palace intrigues and a fanciful arranged marriage “romance” that would produce “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”
“Life of Brian” made more sense and looked more historical. And for what it’s worth, “The Nativity Story” was a far better Hollywood account of who Mary might have been, and “Risen” a much better “thriller” treatment of the origin myth Christianity is built on.
Mary is ordained as the “special” child of destiny, born to childless Anne (Hilla Vidor) and Joachim (Ori Pfeffer, very good), after Joaquim has spent weeks in the desert, fasting and praying for an explanation for why they haven’t been able to conceive.
That desert opening promises a better movie than the one that follows.
A visit from the “man in blue robes” sets our plot in motion. Visits from Gabriel are what verify this prophecy to the parents. And when Mary ((Israeli actress Noa Cohen) is first spied by the young laborer Joseph (Ido Tako), his mention of such a visit is what convinces Joachim to give his daughter’s hand to the oddball carpenter from Nazareth even though “she is vowed to the Lord.”
We see Mary’s guidance and nurturing as a child of the Temple, and get a confusing glimpse of temple activism and its price (assassinations, a blinding) before Mary marries, gets pregnant and heads to Bethlehem as assorted wise men and shepherds (!?) get audiences with paranoid Herod and give away the game. The aged ruler who wants credit for rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem isn’t the “real” “King of the Jews” after all.
That’s a poor kid born in a stable.
The scene stealer in all this is Lucifer, of course, played with a venomous gusto by Eamon Farren. He’s here to tempt Mary and tease others and taunt Gabriel.
Mary is but “the vessel,” a beatific coquette, mostly passive in all this despite narrating her own story.
Herod is all seething mistrust, clinging to power with this rabbi/insurgent/prophet’s “head on a pike” ethos and not taking any chances with newborn baby boys in Bethlehem. “Kill them all!”
It’s a little hard to follow, as this part of the Navity Story isn’t as well-known and the script wanders off on tangeants that are unfamiliar and seem unnecessary. Casting better known actors often helps a story with a lot of characters make more sense.
The production values are impressive, if a tad Texas Western (the horses, saddles, coach, etc.).
And with Caruso focusing on the third act action and a fiery finale, the story’s few chances at emotion go up in smoke. There’s sacrifice, but little compassion and little sense of the allure of the origin story that launched a global religion. This account from an “elevated historical” space has action, but the drama in the story is mostly dull pre-ordained “prophecy,” as if that’s enough.
Rating: TV-PG
Cast: Noa Cohen, Ido Tako, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Hilla Vidor, Ori Pfeffer, Dudley O’Shaughnessy, Eamon Farren and Anthony Hopkins
Credits: Directed by D.J. Caruso, scripted by Timothy Michael Hayes. A Netflix release.
Running time: 1:52
