MK FD

I still am not quite sure why, but I found this movie DEEPLY moving. Rooney Mara’s Mary Magdalene captivated me and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Joaquin Phoenix, whom I already know was a good actor, blew me away with his Jesus. Initially I was unsure how I felt about it and then I watched it again, and again. I keep going back to certain scenes. While some of the script confused me (like Mary falling asleep while Jesus is on the way to Golgotha when she had just woken up?) the crucifixion scene was just gorgeous. I was so moved by the way his body reared up when the nails were being driven in his feet, how he conveyed his thirst (why did that make such an impression?) and the twisting of his body to show how much pain he was really in. When Mary appears in front of him no words are required; (Shout out to the cinematographer who got the shot of him with the sunlight reflected in his eye as he was dying.) I cried when his body was carried to his mother and she sobbed and kissed his body as she cradled him. The musical score was so beautiful and moving and I have listened to it non-stop. I also loved how the character of Judas was treated. His storyline made so much more sense to me as portrayed in this film. And I was incredibly moved when Mary offers him mercy and understanding when he finds her on Golgotha, devastated by what he has done when he expected the outcome to be so different. I loved Mary’s reunion with Jesus after the Resurrection in that it was so undramatic. I have always loved films that deal with the passion (Ben-Hur especially, Jesus of Nazareth) The Passion of the Christ was also beautiful. Musical score, acting, cinematography, etc. However, I really can’t watch it because it’s so gruesome. It feels like torture porn in places whereas Mary Magdalene left me feeling calm and fulfilled.