Mary (2024 film)

Last updated

Mary
Mary 2024.png
Netflix poster
Directed by D. J. Caruso
Written byTimothy Michael Hayes
Produced by
  • Mary Aloe
  • Hannah Leader
  • Gillian Hormel
  • Joshua Harris
Starring
CinematographyGavin Struthers
Edited byJim Page
Music by Timothy Williams
Production
companies
  • Aloe Entertainment
  • Luna Film Productions
  • Ludascripts
  • PeachTree Media Partners
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • December 6, 2024 (2024-12-06)
Running time
112 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Mary is a 2024 epic biblical film directed by D. J. Caruso from a screenplay by Timothy Michael Hayes. It follows Mary, mother of Jesus, played by Noa Cohen, from her childhood in Nazareth to the birth of Jesus. The film also stars Ido Tako, Ori Pfeffer, Hilla Vidor, Dudley O'Shaughnessy, and Anthony Hopkins. It was released on Netflix on December 6, 2024.

Contents

Plot

After years of praying for a child, the angel Gabriel appears to Joachim and tells him that he will have a daughter. In exchange, Joachim and his wife, Anne, are to dedicate their daughter to the service of God. Nine months later, Anne gives birth to Mary in Nazareth. Elsewhere, Herod the Great announces plans to rebuild the Second Temple. Fearing the growing threats to his throne, he orders the death of Aristobulus, the brother of his wife, Mariamne. When Mariamne protests, Herod stabs her himself.

Years later, Joachim and Anne present Mary to the Temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated to God. She is met by Anna the Prophetess and Baba ben Buta, and is educated in the temple until she is a teenager. While washing clothes in a stream, she meets Joseph, who is immediately enamored with her and briskly asks Joachim and Anne for her hand in marriage. After her betrothal, Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her that she will bear a son and name him Jesus. When the High Priests find out about Mary's pregnancy, they cast her out of the temple, though Anna tells her she will return someday.

Mary tells Anne about her pregnancy, and Anne sends her to stay with her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. The news of Mary's pregnancy begins to spread, and rumors circulate about her supposed promiscuity. When Mary goes to the city to explain herself to Joseph, she is nearly stoned by a mob, but Joseph helps her escape. He assures her that he does not care what people think and promises to love both her and the child. Mary and Joseph are married, but soon enter into hiding and travel to Bethlehem.

Herod's reign becomes increasingly tyrannical, causing unrest among Jews who wish to restore the House of David. Herod learns that the King of the Jews is soon to be born in Bethlehem, threatening his throne. When Mary goes into labor, Joseph seeks out shelter at several inns, but is told that there are no rooms due to the influx of pilgrims in the city for the birth of the Messiah. They find a stable, and Mary finally gives birth to Jesus. Upon hearing of Jesus's birth, Herod orders the Massacre of the Innocents, and Mary and Joseph flee for Egypt. They find shelter with a family along the way, but are soon found by Herod’s guards. After managing to escape, they present Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Cast

Noa Cohen plays Mary. Noa Cohen, May 2022 (cropped).jpg
Noa Cohen plays Mary.

Production

Development

Director D. J. Caruso, who is a practicing Catholic, was inspired to tell the story of Mary in a "human and relatable" way for audiences. He stated, "I wanted to inspire, particularly younger viewers, to say, 'Wow, Mary could be my friend. A lot of what she went through is contemporary and what's happening in the world today.'" [1] Bishop David G. O'Connell, auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, served as Caruso's spiritual advisor on the film. [2] Pastor Joel Osteen served as an executive producer on the film. [3]

Writing

Caruso referred to the Protoevangelium of James for source material on Mary, as well as her parents, Anne and Joachim. [4] Timothy Michael Hayes wrote the original screenplay in 2020 after consulting with various Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders and scholars. [5] The script underwent 74 drafts before finalization. [6]

Casting

Around 75 women auditioned for the role of Mary before newcomer Noa Cohen was chosen. Caruso stated, "It was important to us that Mary, along with most of our primary cast, be selected from Israel to ensure authenticity." [7] The decision to cast Israeli actors over Palestinian actors was later met with backlash on social media. [8]

Filming

Principal photography took place in Morocco in early 2024. The village of Chefchaouen was used to film the Bethlehem scenes. [9] For scenes in Herod's first temple, the production team modified a former Ridley Scott set. For scenes in Herod's second temple, interiors were shot in a Moroccan museum while exteriors were filmed on a constructed set. [10] Filming was completed by April 2024. [5] [11]

Release

Netflix acquired the film for distribution in September 2024. [12] Promotional stills were released on October 15, 2024, and the trailer was released on November 12, 2024. [3] [13] The film was released on Netflix on December 6, 2024. [7] [14] Upon its release, Caruso traveled to Vatican City to have the film blessed by Pope Francis. He also gifted the pope with a yellow scarf from the film. [15]

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 29% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.30/10. [16] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 27 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [17]

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India rated the film three out of five stars, writing that it "falls short in its quest to be truly divine". He noted that the screenplay felt restrained and underwhelming, contrary to what one would expect from a religious epic. He commended the performances of Cohen and Hopkins, but noted that the supporting cast's performances were constrained by the script's lack of dimensionality with regards to their characters. He also commended the production design and costuming. [18] Catherine Bray of The Guardian rated the film two out of five stars, calling it "fairly straightforward", but "a wade through dull dramatisations of bits of scripture". She commended the performance of Hopkins as one of the more entertaining parts of the film. [19] Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph rated the film one out of five stars, calling it "the worst film of the year" and writing that "there's hardly a single moment in Mary which helps us figure out why it was made". He noted the dialogue as "heinous" and the cast's performances as "strangulated". He also criticized the film's lighting and color grading. [20]

Isabella Soares of Collider called the film "surface-level and uninspiring" and wrote, "Mary is tonally uneven, and its script falls flat". Despite the film being marketed as both a coming-of-age film and thriller film, Soares found the film to be neither of the two. She further called the film "a missed opportunity" that "fails to make full use of its protagonist's perspective and show a deeper look at one of the most famous figures in Christianity". [21] John Serba of Decider wrote, "...Mary is highly watchable, with agreeable pacing and an earnest tone funneled through a committed cast", but noted that "the film is at best moderately engaging, and somewhat inadvertently courts indifference." He commended Cohen's performance despite the screenplay's "clunky dialogue", but noted that viewers might be better off rewatching The Greatest Story Ever Told for the "cinematic apex" of the religious epic genre. [22]

Religious media response

Mary received mixed to negative reviews from Catholic media outlets, largely due to differences between the film's content and Catholic teachings. Amy Welborn of Angelus commented that the film's source material seemed to be "a highly selective mashup of the Gospels, the noncanonical "Protoevangelium of James", [...] and a Joel Osteen sermon". She felt that this, in turn, "create[d] a picture of Mary that is inconsistent, to say the least, with her actual role in the Christian story." [23] Joseph Pronechen of the National Catholic Register noted that the film "portrays the Blessed Mother with reverence but takes troubling liberties with Catholic doctrine", which include depicting Mary having labor pains during childbirth, which he claimed was contrary to Catholic teaching. [24] This, however, has been disputed among Catholic theologians. [25] [26] Pronechen also noted the complete omission of the Magnificat. [24] Nick Olszyk of The Catholic World Report rated the film 1⁄2 out of five stars, calling it "so strange, haphazard, and poorly written that any profundity and meaning are easily lost". [27]

Non-Catholic media outlets tended to receive the film more favorably. Christopher D. Cunningham of Meridian Magazine , a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publication, "[Y]ou can feel the care and craft that have gone into [the film]. . . . This doesn’t feel like there was a tinkering team of religious advisors sanding down every moment that might conflict with how anyone might see the nativity story. It simply feels like an expression of faith from those who made it." He commended the performances of Cohen, Tako, and Hopkins, and called the production design and effects "top-notch". [28] Mark Judge of Chronicles wrote, "Mary is beautiful, gorgeously shot, and expertly acted film that shows how the Mother of God was human while never diminishing her unique role in the history of the world." He also noted that the film "is what religious conservatives have been begging to see again since the time of The Passion of the Christ : a masterfully done faith-based movie." [29]

Related Research Articles

Herod I or Herod the Great was a Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base—the Western Wall being part of it. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary, mother of Jesus</span> Mother of Jesus

Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. The Church of the East historically regarded her as Christotokos, a term still used in Assyrian Church of the East liturgy. Other Protestant views on Mary vary, with some holding her to have lesser status. She has the highest position in Islam among all women and is mentioned numerous times in the Quran, including in a chapter named after her. She is also revered in the Baháʼí Faith and the Druze Faith.

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According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come only from New Testament apocrypha, of which the Gospel of James seems to be the earliest that mentions them. The mother of Mary is mentioned but not named in the Quran.

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References

  1. ↑ Pronechen, Joseph (November 29, 2024). "Catholic Director of Netflix Film 'Mary' Aims to Celebrate the Blessed Mother — and St. Joseph, Too". National Catholic Register . Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  2. ↑ Klett, Leah MarieAnn (November 12, 2024). "Netflix releases trailer for biblical epic 'Mary': 'An origin story of Christianity'". The Christian Post . Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Zilko, Christian (November 12, 2024). "'Mary' Trailer: Anthony Hopkins' King Herod Is Determined to Capture Jesus in Netflix's Faith-Based Film". IndieWire . Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  4. ↑ Chattaway, Peter T. (December 5, 2024). "Hail 'Mary,' Full of Violence". Christianity Today . Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Wiseman, Andreas (April 10, 2024). "Anthony Hopkins To Play King Herod Alongside Newcomer Noa Cohen In Biblical Thriller 'Mary'". Deadline . Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  6. ↑ Klett, Leah MarieAnn (October 15, 2024). "First look: Biblical epic 'Mary' with Anthony Hopkins, executive produced by Joel Osteen, to hit Netflix". The Christian Post . Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (October 15, 2024). "The mother of Jesus Christ goes on the run in 'Mary' first-look photos". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  8. ↑ Starling, Boris (December 6, 2024). "Why Netflix's 'disgusting' religious epic is angering Palestinians and Christians alike". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ Menta, Anna (December 6, 2024). "Where Was 'Mary' Filmed? Discover the Filming Locations for the Biblical Netflix Movie". Decider . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ Menta, Anna (December 6, 2024). "Netflix's 'Mary' Used an Old Ridley Scott Set For King Herod's Temple". Decider . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  11. ↑ Sharpe, Josh (April 10, 2024). "Anthony Hopkins Will Play Villain King Herod in Upcoming Biblical Thriller MARY". BroadwayWorld . Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  12. ↑ Stephan, Katcy (September 24, 2024). "Biblical Epic 'Mary' With Anthony Hopkins Acquired By Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  13. ↑ Sudario, Erielle (October 15, 2024). "Mary of Nazareth Becomes the Star of Her Own Film in 'Mary' First Look Images". Collider . Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  14. ↑ Truitt, Brian (November 12, 2024). "'Mary': See the exclusive first trailer for Netflix's faith-based thriller". USA Today . Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  15. ↑ Giangravé, Claire (December 9, 2024). "New Netflix film casts the Bible's Mary in a 'new light'". The Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Mary". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved December 19, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  17. ↑ "Mary". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  18. ↑ Kotecha, Ronak (December 7, 2024). "Mary Review : This biblical tale falls short in its quest to be truly divine". The Times of India . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  19. ↑ Bray, Catherine (December 6, 2024). "Mary review – turgid bibical tale has you rooting for Anthony Hopkins' hammy Herod". The Guardian . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  20. ↑ Robey, Tim (December 6, 2024). "Mary: Netflix's biblical biopic is the worst film of the year". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  21. ↑ Soares, Isabella (December 6, 2024). "'Mary' Review: Netflix's Take on the Mother of Jesus Is a Missed Opportunity". Collider . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  22. ↑ Serba, John (December 6, 2024). "'Mary' Netflix Movie Review: Stream It Or Skip It?". Decider . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  23. ↑ Welborn, Amy (December 5, 2024). "Netflix's 'Mary' is a survival thriller that loses the script". Angelus . Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  24. 1 2 Pronechen, Joseph (December 5, 2024). "What Netflix's 'Mary' Gets Right — and What It Gets Wrong". National Catholic Register . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  25. ↑ Staples, Tim (July 18, 2024). "Mary and the Pain of Childbirth". Catholic Answers . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  26. ↑ Kettner, Lindsey (February 4, 2019). "Did Mary have labor pains and did Jesus have a belly button?". Relevant Radio . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  27. ↑ Olszyk, Nick (December 5, 2024). "This is not the Mary you've known or need to know". The Catholic World Report . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  28. ↑ Cunningham, Christopher D. (December 5, 2024). "How Netflix's 'Mary' Reframes the Nativity Through a Mother's Eyes". Meridian Magazine . Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  29. ↑ Judge, Mark (December 5, 2024). "'Mary': A Beautiful, Realistic Film about the Blessed Mother". Chronicles . Retrieved December 5, 2024.
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