Movie Review: Meet "Mary Magdalene", Jesus Christ's First Feminist Apostle

Mary Magdalene tries to retell the Easter story, and lays an egg.

Director Garth Davis’ first film, Lion, was a global hit and Best Picture nominee. Now, with Hollywood waiting, Davis isn’t so much excitedly “going to Disneyland!” as he is “going to Gethsemane!” with his latest flick, which focuses on the final days of Jesus Christ’s life from the perspective of his misunderstood female apostle, Mary Magdelene.

Rooney Mara brings quiet grace to the role of Mary, while Joaquin Phoenix plays Christ in his own gentle, tortured way. Their remaining co-stars from Her must have been unavailable, which is probably for the best. Chris Pratt is not yet ready to take on Judas Iscariot.

Rather, A Prophet’s Tahar Rahim plays Judas as a sympathetic and similarly misunderstood zealot who hands religious leader Jesus over for crucifixion; not doing so for money—as screenwriters Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett tell it—but to usher in the fated holy war. Spoiler alert?

Of course, no spoiler warnings are really needed for Mary Magdalene, which spins a yarn you’ve no doubt heard many times before, regardless of your religion. It is, after all, the Easter origin story. The only major new wrinkle here is the way in which Mary Magdalene is depicted as Jesus’ Female Outreach Officer, helping recruit and save women who are otherwise too intimidated to get baptised among the throngs of male Christians who flock to Jesus on the reg. History had painted Magdalene as a prostitute, and, in more conspiratorial corners, as Jesus’ girlfriend or wife. Davis and his screenwriters finally give Mary her due, making them into colleagues in customer relations.

It’s honourable, and only barely watchable.

There’s plenty of strange and compelling material from the New Testament for Davis to work with, including the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus. However, the feature itself is DOA, with a pace so languid, and cinematography by Greig Fraser so uninspired, that there’s simply no breathing life into it.

Mary Magdalene is, proudly, a reclamation of its titular heroine and a feminist twist on a famous tale, and yet, not nearly as cinematically interesting or subversive as you’d want it to be. This Mary is all outline, no shading, even when suffering through stifling conditions with an abusive family. Mara is a fine actress, but she can only work with the script she’s given, which, despite its intentions, doesn’t seek to rock the boat too much. The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion sparked controversies for the ages. That shouldn’t always be the goal, yet Mary Magdalene won’t likely even cock an intrigued eyebrow.

The great Chiwetel Ejiofor, as Peter the Apostle, also gets little to work with here, except for a final argument with Mary over how to preach the late (or is he risen?) Jesus’ message. Religious scholars will no doubt rip that scene to shreds; still, it’s (perhaps not coincidentally) the only aspect of Mary Magdalene that reverberates, with Peter representing the old-school factions of the church that diminished the part Mary (and women, generally) played in the formation of this religion, and Mary as the modern, progressive person of faith. (She was only recognised as 'Apostle of the Apostle' by the Vatican in 2016.)

In the wake of #MeToo, Mary Magdalene could have been the movie of the moment. In fact, its release in America has been stalled because it was produced by the beleaguered Weinstein Company, whose founder, Harvey Weinstein, is facing dozens of accusations of sexual abuse. Instead, Mary Magdalene is a movie that lets the moment pass it by.

2.5/5

In Australian cinemas 22 March. Rated M for mature themes.