True and Simply Beautiful

True and Simply Beautiful

As a Christian myself, I was hesitant when I saw that they were creating a movie like this. I was afraid that Hollywood would take it and make it something completely different than what the Bible says. I didn't want it to be something that tainted the story of Mary Magdalene or Jesus at all. Especially with it being focused on a female protagonist, there very well could have been a feminist takeover in this movie. Which is fine, but I wanted to see the story straight. Thankfully, that is what I got. Garth Davis is honestly one of the most talented directors that have risen to the fame the past couple of hours. His dedication to making this movie as historically accurate as he could spoke well and made the movie more impactful for what is trying to be portrayed. His portrayal of Jesus most affected me in the fact that he showed how Jesus was also human. It showed the journey of when Mary joined Jesus to when Jesus was crucified and resurrected, but it didn't feel rushed.  It was slow at times as this movie is a solid 2 hours, but I was so glad to see it stick with the true journey of Mary Magdalene. 

Give Greig Fraser an Oscar

I will say this again and again, I think that Greig Fraser will break through Hollywood as a Cinematographer. There is some difference in the scenery of the movie as it was filmed in Italy which isn't accurate to how it looked in say Jerusalem. But, the visuals and camera work in this movie is superb. Garth Davis and Greig Fraser both worked together on Lion along with Rooney Mara, and the chemistry between a director and photographer shows so well in this movie. The dry palette of color was extenuated so well, that it felt like there was more color than there actually was. All in all, I think that Greig Fraser deserves an Oscar nod once more in these upcoming Oscars for this great work in Cinematography. 

Silence is sometimes better...

This movie is long, and it's hard to fill a long movie with complete dialogue. The writers for this movie, Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett, did a great job playing with silence. With them working with Davis, they played well with the short silences between sentences or words. This movie was all about momentum and creating intensity in the words. They used a well crafted script and direction to create that intensity. The score was vivid as well, with great uplifts at the right times. 

Right off the pages

They finally gave us a great Jesus. Joaquin Phoenix does a phenomenal job at portraying Jesus. He showed his raw and vulnerable side, while also showing his intense emotion. He showed his wisdom and his compassion. He showed his humanity. Rooney Mara did a great job giving us a character we didn't really know personally in the accounts written in the Bible. She gave us a monotone and passionless performance that not only tied the movie together, but showed Mary's dedication and emotion when she felt the character needed it most.  Chiwetel Ejiofor's interpretation of Peter was a great supporting role as well along with Tahar Rahim as Judas. Stellar performances for a movie driven by the characters and their relationships among each other. Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor in the 2019 Oscars for his role as Jesus. 

Jesus: "Your family says you gabble with the demon."

Mary Magdalene: "If there’s a demon in me it’s always been there."

Jesus: "There are no demons here."

Slow, but totally worth it

There have been complaints about the pace of the movie, which I totally understand. This movie is not for everyone. It takes time to get to it's points and relies on dialogue, which may not be everyone's favorite type of film. My main point of this movie that I take away though, is that you don't have to be religious to enjoy this movie. It is such a beautiful movie to watch, and it conveys such endearing characters that all you want to do is be there with them. I absolutely loved this movie, some other people may not. If you love soft indie movies with power, this is totally in your wheelhouse. A great tool of watching this movie, is remembering that these characters were real. They lived this and experienced the same struggle, pain, and love shown on screen. A great movie that everyone should see, regardless of religion.