Review: Mary Magdalene
In the Bible and in popular culture, where women are either categorised as saints or sinners, Mary Magdalene has long been wrongly viewed as one of the latter, a penitent prostitute whose soul was saved by Jesus. Mary, since venerated by numerous religious orders, was the "apostle of apostles," having borne witness to the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This current time seems particularly right to recast religion's most-maligned woman as an intelligent, impassioned feminist icon, so it's especially unfortunate that Mary Magdalene, director Garth Davis' follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Lion, is such a dull and ponderous affair.
When we first see Mary, essayed by Rooney Mara with her usual contained intensity, she is living in coastal Judea with her family, spending her days tending sheep, retrieving fishermen's nets, and serving as an occasional midwife. Her rejection of the man her father has arranged for her to marry, coupled with her fervid faith, worries her father who tries to have the demons he perceives to be the cause of her actions exorcised from her by having her repeatedly dunked in the sea. The next time she finds herself submerged in water, it will be because she has decided to follow Jesus (Joaquin Phoenix).
"Do you have the courage to follow what you hear?" the prophet asks her, and she proves herself more than up to the task. Her presence, however, ruffles the feathers of Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is all too aware of the optics of her inclusion. More welcoming is Judas (Tahar Rahim), here painted less as a traitor than a man whose betrayal was a misguided attempt to motivate his leader into action. Indeed, the script by Helena Edmundson and Philippa Goslett, is awash in youthful idealism with Jesus and his disciples as revolutionaries out to oust the existing oppressive regime. The problem is that the passion of their belief is never anywhere near palpable. The filmmakers are never anything less than respectful and tasteful in their treatment, but their care results in an almost suffocating stagnancy that pervades the film.
This impairment extends to both Mara and Phoenix. The former, grappling with the passivity of her role, slips into a severe sort of blankness. The latter, meanwhile, could have benefited from more volatility; his anguish feels too much like a snuffed-out grenade and there's a certain shagginess to his playing that comes off as halfhearted rather than deliberate. The film is undeniably well-packaged, with cinematographer Greig Fraser doing wonders with a colour palette of mostly creams, tans and beiges, and Hildur Guðnadóttir and the dearly departed Jóhann Jóhannsson composing a haunting and seeking score.
Mary Magdalene
Directed by: Garth Davis
Written by: Helena Edmundson, Philippa Goslett
Starring: Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tahar Rahim, Ariane Labed, Denis Ménochet, Lubna Azabal, Tchéky Karyo
