Post by stephen on Jul 14, 2018 4:20:53 GMT
So I was unsure how I'd feel about this film going into it. I love Joaquin Phoenix, I love Rooney Mara, I love their weird relationship, I really dug Garth Davis's debut Lion . . . but the potential whitewashing controversy and Weinstein's involvement with the film loomed large over it, and the fact that it was pretty well dumped with middling reviews made me quite leery.
But after seeing it, I gotta say, I quite enjoyed it. It's lusciously shot, gorgeously scored (Jóhann Jóhannsson, whose passing feels more potent with every posthumous release), and has a strong sense of itself. It kinda feels reminiscent of early Malick in its structure, dealing with spirituality on a different sort of plane than what we'd typically expect from such a film. I was surprised at how much it doesn't feel like an actor's showpiece; Mara and Phoenix are largely reactionary in this film, quiet and introspective, and yet the camera loves them and is riveted by them. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tahar Rahim in particular lend a sense of gravitas to the proceedings, as does a host of recognizable faces like Denis Menochet and Ariane Labed, who just look so right in this period.
If I had a complaint, it's that I feel the film didn't quite delve deep enough into how Mary's relationship with Jesus was going to spell potential doom for the fledgling Church's message, and while the final scenes really slam home the hypocrisy of it all, I think it could've been a bit more incendiary at times, but Davis wound up taking the more demure route with it. I'm not asking for a screed or anything decrying Christianity and the patriarchy, but I do feel the seeds were there and could've been watered here and there throughout.
But after seeing it, I gotta say, I quite enjoyed it. It's lusciously shot, gorgeously scored (Jóhann Jóhannsson, whose passing feels more potent with every posthumous release), and has a strong sense of itself. It kinda feels reminiscent of early Malick in its structure, dealing with spirituality on a different sort of plane than what we'd typically expect from such a film. I was surprised at how much it doesn't feel like an actor's showpiece; Mara and Phoenix are largely reactionary in this film, quiet and introspective, and yet the camera loves them and is riveted by them. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tahar Rahim in particular lend a sense of gravitas to the proceedings, as does a host of recognizable faces like Denis Menochet and Ariane Labed, who just look so right in this period.
If I had a complaint, it's that I feel the film didn't quite delve deep enough into how Mary's relationship with Jesus was going to spell potential doom for the fledgling Church's message, and while the final scenes really slam home the hypocrisy of it all, I think it could've been a bit more incendiary at times, but Davis wound up taking the more demure route with it. I'm not asking for a screed or anything decrying Christianity and the patriarchy, but I do feel the seeds were there and could've been watered here and there throughout.
