‘Mary’ Review: This Christmas, mother Mary steals the show instead of her son
Director: DJ Caruso | Script: Timothy Michael Hayes | Cast: Noa Cohen (Mary), Ido Tako (Joseph), Ori Pfeffer (Joachim), Hilla Vidor (Anne), Anthony Hopkins (Herod), each | Playing time: 118 minutes | Year: 2024
Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariane Grande. All pop icons, each biting the dust compared to the world’s greatest female idol: the Blessed Virgin Mary. Two thousand years later, it finally receives the attention it deserves and the miraculous story of Jesus’ uncontaminated conception is revealed. Director DJ Caruso and screenwriter Timothy Hayes narrate Maria the Christmas story from a new perspective and is careful not to detract from the source material. Pretty boring material, and that shows in the final result.
The filmmakers faithfully follow the life of Maria, a young woman who has been destined for a higher purpose since her conception. Based on the Protoevangelium of James, the story traces the sweet youth of Mary, her education in the Jewish temple of Jerusalem and her engagement to Joseph. Everything the viewer will see has been known for a long time. It is clear that the creators do not want to offend anyone and only occasionally allow themselves some freedom.
This precaution is manifested at each stage of the production process. After 74 (!) script revisions under the guidance of a host of religious leaders, an Israeli woman had to be cast in the challenging lead role. The controversy on the Internet about the decision not to choose a Palestinian actress was of no use: the model Noa Cohen was the winner in the test. Throughout the film he is allowed to show many sides of the revered icon, but his debutant status is betrayed more than once.
Cohen manages to maintain an aura of elegance, befitting Mary’s eternal status as a virgin. But once her pregnancy begins, Cohen finds it difficult to play the more complex game. Outside of her own will, Mary must be a mother, and not just any one. That is, the mother of the king of the Jews. The dual role of mother and virgin demands a lot from the actress, and the flat dialogue doesn’t help. The ambition to turn the character of Maria into an endearing leading role quickly fails when there is little to work with.
This superficiality is typical of the entire film. The elaborate historical sets and clever cinematography add color to the whole, but it is difficult to find depth in the characters and plot. In a portrait film about a rejected woman, traditional values remain suspiciously strong. Women must be kind and attentive, and Maria obediently follows these guidelines. The other roles also suffer from weak dialogue and a lack of development. Even the great Anthony Hopkins, as the manic King Herod, mechanically makes his way through long stretches of text. A missed opportunity.
A few checkmate games and a Lucifer cameo don’t help the total predictability Maria to make way. The film’s complete devotion and loyalty to an appendix to the New Testament is admirable. But it doesn’t make good cinema. At times it seems more like an expensive episode of Schooltv. In it, the viewer follows the beautiful Mary, who faithfully walks her path in life with the equally beautiful Joseph at her side. As in previous biblical stories, Mary is and continues to be the bearer of an already known message.
Maria can be seen in netflix.