With Christmastime comes the reminder of Jesus’ birth, which has been adapted to the screen several times throughout the years, from The Nativity Story to Journey to Bethlehem. Even the recent Judy Greer-led box office success, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, explores the lead-up to the birth of Christ through a church play. Yet, the aforementioned adaptations all look at this event without honing on a particular point of view. Aside from a TV movie starring Christian Bale called Mary, the Mother of Jesus, which looks into both her pregnancy and her relationship with Jesus up to his death on the cross, a film that looks into Mary’s role in the Nativity story has yet to be made… until now.

Netflix’s latest original production, Mary, focuses on the titular character and the circumstances she faced before and after finding out that she was the chosen one to give birth to the promised king. D.J. Caruso’s film sets out to give a more nuanced depiction of Jesus’ mother, from her teen years to after her miraculous conception. Marketed as a coming-of-age tale, the end product fails to make full use of its protagonist’s perspective and show a deeper look at one of the most famous figures in Christianity.

What Is ‘Mary’ About?

As the title implies, Mary follows Mary of Nazareth (played by Noa Cohen), a Jewish girl destined to be the mother of Jesus. Taking creative liberties in addressing her story beyond what is informed in the Bible, the film opens with her father, Joachim (Ori Pfeffer), fasting in the desert (the same situation that Jesus endured) for many days and praying for God to bless him and his wife with a child. In this version of events, the angel Gabriel (Dudley O’Shaughnessy) appears to Joachim first, granting his wish in exchange for his daughter to be brought to the temple to serve God.

While the protagonist is still a child, she is taken by her parents to the temple to fulfill their part of the promise, and that is where she devotes her life to learning more about the scriptures and being a humble servant. During one of her outings from the temple, she spends an afternoon by the riverbank where Joseph (Ido Tako) sees her and becomes instantly enamored by her. After their brief interaction, he goes after her family requesting her hand in marriage, a proposition that they accept solely because Gabriel had also appeared to Joseph. After Mary and Joseph are engaged, she sees the angel that appeared to both her parents and her groom-to-be, and he tells her about the baby that she will conceive. It’s here that the film really takes off, with Mary being persecuted by the townspeople who believed she had a child outside of marriage. Fending for her life and her unborn child, Mary endures several trials in the lead-up to Jesus’ birth.

‘Mary’ Is Neither a Coming-of-Age Tale Nor a Riveting Thriller

The truth is, despite Mary being the title of Caruso’s latest directorial effort, there is little that the filmmaker does to help audiences who are both aware and unaware of this story have a more nuanced understanding of its central figure. Aside from a scene during Mary’s youth, in which she shows compassion to the poor by bringing them bread, the movie doesn’t give you further insight into her character or even her internal conflict about her pregnancy. Despite being looked down upon by the people in her community and having no luck finding a place to stay to give birth to Jesus, viewers never get to know what is going through the character’s head or how she is growing from this experience. A coming-of-age project should focus on the protagonist’s personal growth, which doesn’t happen here.

Related Move Over Jesus, ‘Mary’ Gets Her Own Biblical Coming-of-Age Epic in New Netflix Trailer The movie premieres on December 6.

In addition to being unreasonably marketed as a coming-of-age look into Mary’s life, the film is also being sold as a riveting thriller that explores King Herod’s (Anthony Hopkins) devious stance upon Jesus’ birth. According to the Bible, Herod was obsessed with finding the baby who could threaten his power, so much so that he ordered a search for Jesus, ripping several baby boys that were born in Bethlehem from their mothers’ arms. Just the thought of a mad king going after your child is horrifying, so the idea of further exploring this turn of events could show a part of the story that is often less depicted in onscreen adaptations. Yet, not even this plotline delivers the expected level of intensity and thrill.

‘Mary’ Is At Its Best When It Stays True to the Story We Know
Image via Netflix

Frankly speaking, Mary is tonally uneven, and its script falls flat, resulting in the actors (even an Oscar winner like Hopkins) having little room to showcase their skills. This Netflix original is better off when it sticks to its source material, as seen through Mary and Joseph’s relationship after he becomes determined to marry her despite the rumors surrounding her pregnancy. The few instances that the film is able to somewhat touch audiences are through the couple’s scenes, facing life-threatening obstacles together and equipping themselves to fulfill the roles that God gave them.

In regards to sticking to the source, Mary has received controversy for casting an Israeli actor as a historical figure who lived in what is now considered modern Palestine. In hindsight, given the current Israeli/Palestinian conflict, this was bound to stoke ire. But as a Christian audience member who gave this production the benefit of the doubt, there are other reasons why the film is flawed. For instance, in an attempt to fill in the gaps from what isn’t informed in the Bible, Caruso’s movie tries and fails to connect Mary to Herod before her pregnancy. It also adds many more appearances from Gabriel than necessary to further the plot. Satan (played by Eamon Farren) also occasionally plagues Mary, resulting in an odd dynamic altogether.

Overall, the biggest takeaway that I had while watching Mary is that it was a missed opportunity. A missed opportunity to give the mother of Jesus more development than we’ve seen in prior depictions of the Nativity story, and a missed opportunity to truly show the cruelty of Herod’s actions as a ruler. Caruso could’ve made a purposeful coming-of-age adaptation, and he also could’ve delivered on the thriller aspect of Herod’s search for the newborn king. Yet, the end product just doesn’t do either. With an underbaked script by Timothy Michael Hayes and several add-ons to the biblical narrative that harm more than elevate the plot, the cast doesn’t get the opportunity to impress or show an inspiring new take on Mary’s trajectory.

Mary comes to Netflix on December 6.

Your changes have been saved Mary ReviewD.J. Caruso’s take on the Mother of Jesus is surface-level and uninspiring.ProsThe film makes a bold decision to show the challenges that Mary faced during her pregnancy and after King Herod’s search.The moments between Mary and Joseph are the few instances that audiences might be drawn to this Netflix original. ConsCaruso’s film is tonally uneven, failing as both a coming-of-age tale and a thriller.Timothy Michael Hayes’ script limits the characters’ development and strains the cast’s performance.The plot is hindered by add-on elements like Herod and Mary’s encounter before her pregnancy and Satan’s presence throughout the film.By the end, audiences are left with a powerless message on redeeming love, that feels underwhelming in the lead up to Christmas.

Your changes have been saved Mary, directed by D.J. Caruso, follows the miraculous conception of Mary’s child, inciting King Herod’s wrath as he attempts to eliminate the newborn, whom he perceives as a threat to his reign. Forced into hiding, Mary endeavours to protect her infant son amidst escalating danger.Release Date December 6, 2024 Cast Anthony Hopkins , Mili Avital , Stephanie Nur , Ido Tako , Eamon Farren , Noa Cohen , Soufiane El Khalidy , Hilla Vidor , Gudmundur Thorvaldsson , Ori Pfeffer , Tarrick Benham , Saikat Ahamed , Mehmet Kurtulus , Sami Fekkak , Ben Affan , Charley Boon , Kamal Moummad Runtime 110 Minutes Main Genre Drama Writers Timothy Michael Hayes Expand

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