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December 25, 2009
The Nativity Story (2006)
Should I see it?
Yes.


Short Review: The film succeeds in a nearly impossible task, making a story you’ve heard a thousand times seem fresh and interesting.


Mary is given the Christ child. Her and Joseph traipse across the land to Bethlehem where she gives birth to God in a manger. Throw some wise men and shepherds in for good measure and you’re set. This is seen every in churches around the globe and has become a visual backdrop for the Christmas season. What can a film really offer to the tale that is new?

As it turns out, quite a bit. I believe this film is well done and deserves more praise than it received during its initial run. Director Catherine Hardwicke (The Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen) has an ear for teenage voices. As with her previous work, she delivers accurate and real young characters looking for their way in the world. Mary is not the deified virgin we know today. She is what she really was, a teenage girl living in brutal times.

Hardwicke, through sixteen-year-old actress Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) establishes the opening of the film on Mary’s teenage concerns. By concentrating on the human drama, which is usually missing from this story, Hardwicke and screenwriter Mike Rich (Radio) actually enhance the miraculous events of the narrative.

I understand that many will not be thrilled with the humanizing of Mary or her reduction in the overall story. As the story progresses, it becomes less about her and more about Joseph and the choices he faces. It would seem odd to tell the story of the nativity without directly focusing on Mary, but it makes sense. Joseph directs their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem since he was the male in the relationship, not to mention not swelling with child. Mary spends a great deal of time sitting on the back of a mule. This hardly makes for a thrilling narrative.

By placing the focus on Joseph the story moves forward and he really becomes a figure for both himself and Mary. Their troubled marriage is shown strengthening through the trials. Their love grows as they choose to do God’s bidding. Pushing Joseph to the forefront of the narrative also gives the story more humanity. No one assumes any deity status on old Joe, just Mary. By having him in the spotlight, again, we are served with a deep human drama not a sanitized Sunday School play.

The movie itself is well written and strongly directed. Some have had issues with Castle-Hughes’ performance as Mary. I will agree that she isn’t brimming with charisma, but I think she still did a good job expressing the fear a teenage girl would have being thrust into history as Mary was. One day she is living a normal life, the next she is the mother of the Christ child. I think she gets across the fear and then acceptance that Mary faced.

The real star of the piece is Oscar Issac as Joseph. He handles his role and the conflicting issues swirling around the character very well and provides a likable lead. His vibrant performance compensates for Castle-Hughes more timid presence.

I do recommend this film even outside of the Christmas season. It is obviously a great story and told in this fashion, I do believe it gives the story more power. To understand the potency of The Bible and its stories you have to see it not as just scripture and history but as drama involving real, flesh and blood humans. Once you begin to see the people of scripture as what they were, people like you, the scriptures themselves become more alive. This film shows this wonderfully.




Related Reviews:
Movies about Christ
The Jesus Film (1979)
The Passion of the Christ (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Bible Films Blog
ReelViews

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