In Mary we start with the birth of Mary and then go on a journey to the birth of Jesus. This film is solely told from the point of view of the titular character herself, something which I haven’t heard of before (Mary’s perspective that is), but take what I say with a grain of salt because I can’t say I’ve watched too many Birth of Christ movies. The reimagined period drama is certainly more action-packed than you’d imagine and brings to the surface the struggles of having to birth a child as the “virgin” Mary. This is essentially an epic coming of age, along similar lines to any “chosen one” narrative. Suppose it reminds us that before Jesus was the chosen one, so was Mary. Netflix’s Mary humanizes the heroine in a very “feminist” way; now, let me try to explain what I mean by that.
I suppose, from the stories I’ve heard, I know that Mary was just a regular old human who ended up pregnant without having done the deed, labelling her in the future as the “virgin Mary,” but this is nearly the end-all of what I know. The film’s narrative pushes us to see her as a regular old girl in a new light, in a way that we’ve never seen her before. However, somewhere down the line, I caught myself thinking, Is this the “girlbossification” of Mother Mary? What’s ironic is that Mary’s represented as the purest form of humanity—a mother, caring, loving, and heartbroken to begin with, but it had to come down to her questioning her autonomy for us to figure out that she’s human too. I mean, this is just how I see it, of course, but from what I understand, that’s what the film is trying to do: paint Mary as just a regular old girl who is especially close to her father, loves to play around, and has a heart of gold. But does it really work as intended? I’m not entirely sure.
The nearly 2-hour film is occasionally entertaining, specifically when Anthony Hopkins’ King Herod is on screen. It is his malice and putrid hatred of an unborn child that stands out in the film, which is otherwise very dry. I think the movie fails because while it begins as I’ve described earlier, a tale about the titular character from her own point of view, it soon shifts to haphazard storytelling and doesn’t necessarily give us anything nuanced despite that being the intention: a new perspective. I suppose when a film opens with a voice-over that claims to be giving us an epic tale of love, we imagine it’ll deliver on that promise, but it’s like shooting yourself in the foot, because as we progress, we don’t get to see anything that lives up to that beginning. A piece of dialogue at the beginning of the film reminds us that we might think we know Mary’s story, but we don’t. This leaves a large opening for us to learn about the conflict within Mary, as a human being. This is the expected outcome of such an intro, but instead, it ends up being the same old tale, contradicting that sentiment.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that despite purportedly being a film about an untold story, it ends up presenting 2D characters that never really go beyond their expected outcome, which is massively disappointing. In all honesty, I could’ve looked forward to this film, but somehow I had a feeling it would end up disappointing. Now, bear with me. While I don’t know much about the prophecy, the Bible, or Mary’s story, from the little I’ve heard, this film definitely takes liberties, and if that’s something that’s going to bother you, I would tell you to steer clear. This is definitely not a film for everybody, but I don’t really know who it’s for either.
In terms of acting, everybody is decent in the roles they have; I didn’t find anyone particularly fantastic apart from Anthony Hopkins, but that could be my bias in looking for something that stands out. Visually, the film looks accurate to its era, and I suppose it does transport you to a biblical time, but it gets quite boring there, so I’m not going to tell you that the results are great. There’s one scene that’s quite adorable when Joseph sees Mary for the first time, but that’s about it. I don’t think much else is that memorable. Also, I personally do not like to watch birthing sequences on screen, and there are two in here, both quite long, so be warned if you’re anything like me. I actually quite enjoyed the few scenes with Lucifer in the picture, maybe because I did not expect them at all. Played by Eamon Farren, the character brings a supernatural element to the screen, and it makes the film quite eerie for those moments. Gabriel, on the other hand, looks like a model straight off the runway in his blue robes, surrounded by wind. It’s an aura thing, I suppose, but I guess that’s what we need for angelic appearances.
There are a few action sequences in there and a few heartfelt scenes that work, but overall, this movie isn’t cohesive and feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. I think the concept is fantastic, and if there had been more time spent on the drawing table, then it might’ve done much better. Leaving aside the questions of whether it’s an accurate representation or if the film is cast accurately, one still can’t really say this film is worth a watch. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you want to watch a film on the birth of Jesus this holiday season, pick something else because I don’t think Mary is worth your time. I’d give the Netflix Original 2 out of 5 stars, mainly for intention. I can’t even really say that the acting saved it.
