Mary Magdalene's "Hidden Story" in a Movie

8 months ago (Edited)

If you're into non-canonical but supposedly early church writings then you may be interested to watch this. It's based on the apocryphal gospel of Mary of Magdala.

It definitely shows a different kind of 12 apostles. If the story is really what the unauthorized written work is about then no wonder this source material was discarded.

!! Warning: Major SPOILER Alert !!

👓 Main Cast

Here are the major cast members:

◙ Rooney Mara plays Mary Magdalene

Leaves her family to follow Jesus.

◙ Joaquin Phoenix plays Jesus of Nazareth

The healer brought in to cure Mary.

◙ Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Peter

The lead apostle with a different plan than Jesus.

◙ Tahar Rahim plays Judas

Another apostle who also thought Jesus would do what he expected.

🎥 The Trailer

🔸 Synopsis

A woman struggling to be heard is given value by Jesus Christ.

🔸 The Review

I have never heard of this movie before. It's from 2018 and yet as expected from someone busy making a living I didn't know about this. Apparently it was shown locally but I don't remember it at all. Oh well let's go on with my review.

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◙ Characters and Story

In this film, we see a woman who is underappreciated by her family. Only their father dotes on her since their mother died. One of her brothers treats her harshly like she's just a spoiled brat and good for nothing.

At one point the men in Mary's family all believed she's possessed by demons because of her contrarian thoughts. Thus that's how she meets Jesus. Upon speaking with Him, she eventually decides to be His follower. What an origin story huh? We see how it's not extraordinary to be enamored of someone who treats you kindly. Definitely relatable.

The story is presented as that of a woman during those times, someone who doesn't have the freedom females currently enjoy and experience today. It slightly shows how she would rather dedicate her life to God than man. But it comes across more of not wanting to ever be a wife or parent, as was the custom.

_{Mary Magdalene entering a "cave" with Peter following at a distance. | photo source}

For the single ladies out there, it can hit that spot. However not all women can relate to wanting to only serve the Lord as she did. We don't even have a concept of consecrated virgins anymore, unlike many centuries ago. Unfortunately it doesn't inspire such in the female audience at all.

The film does show how Mary Magdalene is a woman of internal strength and courage. All throughout we see someone with a great faith in the Lord. It also portrays the distinct nature of women: caring and nurturing to others. We then get to see how she comforts the Messiah, providing rest and reassurance despite not being lovers.

As for characterization, we see the humanity and weakness of Jesus. That's one of the aspects I didn't like. In times of extreme stress, here's the Son of God: prone to doing nothing. He'd just stare out or act like a drugged and mindless person while surrounded by a rowdy crowd reaching for Him.

Overall, this is more about Mary of Magdala. We see how she feels she has more importance despite being treated by most men as otherwise. But it does show how Jesus values women too.

Despite the flaws, I like the dialogue. The Jesus script definitely sounds like something He would say. This is the only saving grace in it. We hear Jesus say that we all need to change ourselves as we follow God's commandments. Avoid being like Pharisees who only do things without putting their hearts in it. Mary echoes this by saying we should love each other as He taught. Still at times the story is really not that likable, perhaps because it is closer to reality.

Basically it shows the apostles only plotted how they will make Jesus lead the revolt against the Roman Empire. It disappointingly shows how the men chosen by Jesus would rather make Him do their will instead of following Him. Well yeah, that's indeed the harsh reality of humanity. We keep asking many things from God and never even bother following His commandments because we are all selfish beings.

This is why the movie is not inspiring at all. No wonder it has a less favorable result on review aggregators. You'll realize how disgusting humanity is when you watch it.

◙ Acting

Of course Rooney Mara does a good job as Mary Magdalene. We see a quiet force to reckon with. She's favored by Jesus too, perhaps because she's the only woman in the group.

Despite my initial thoughts that Joaquin and Jesus don't mix, by the middle of it I see he did ok enough. However, the characters of Peter and Judas are more interesting to me. The way they were portrayed are natural and understated. Too bad the story's not about them. Haha.

_{Jesus and Judas (kneeling). | photo source}

◙ Cinematography, Production Design and Music

The scenery is also something to behold. Well I like bodies of water, so anytime I see it onscreen that's a plus for me. Haha. Makes me wanna visit the Holy Land too. Despite not being a tropical country, it must be nice walking the same paths and going to the places Jesus did.

As for the costumes, they looked interesting as usual. Particularly the way they dressed Jesus. I dunno, there's just something understatedly unique about the clothes they wore as opposed to other Jesus movies.

One thing I also appreciate is the use of silence and ambient nature sounds. Wow. That's a first that I admire such in a movie!

🔸 Rating

Overall I give this film a rating of 6 out of 10 stars. Not too inspiring as it can make you feel hopeless at some point. But there is indeed a truth and more to life if we only work towards it, that is the message of the movie. Part of which is the same thing we can read in the Bible.

However if you're expecting more of a Bible story you can opt to watch it for the Jesus script or just skip it. Nothing to see here except how Mary Magdalene unfavorably sees everyone else except Jesus.

Anyway if you've seen this film before (or not) feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

XOXO,
@artgirl