Mary Magdalene tells the story of the life of Mary Magdalene (Rooney Mara). According to the bible, Mary was a woman who was possessed by seven demons until Jesus cast them out. Mary Magdalene is known for being one of the early followers of Jesus Christ (here played by Joaquin Phoenix), with some going as far as to suggest she was his lover and the mother of his children although that claim has been widely disputed. The theory that Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ were lovers regained widespread notoriety due to Dan Brown’s bestselling novel “The Da Vinci Code”.
The untold story of Mary Magdalene certainly is quite intriguing. In my experience the most interesting books and films featuring biblical characters are the ones that introduce fictional characters to existing stories such as Ben-Hur and Risen as well as the ones that take lesser known biblical figures and give them a backstory like Barabbas starring Anthony Quinn and The Robe starring Richard Burton.
Mary Magdalene was supposed to be distributed by The Weinstein Company in the U.S., which is interesting given the scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of harassing, threatening and raping women over the course of numerous decades. The trailer for the film highlights Mary’s resilience in the face of men seeking to dominate the narrative about Jesus Christ after his death. Especially Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is shown as antagonistic towards the idea of women occupying leadership roles in the church, both before and after Jesus’ passing.
Mary Magdalene could make for an interesting watch, if people are interested in seeing anything that has the Weinstein name attached to it by the time March rolls around. Films such as The Current War have been pushed back simply because the Weinstein Company owns the U.S. distribution rights for the film. One has to hope Mary Magdalene will be judged on its own merit, not for the controversy surrounding it.
Mary Magdalene is directed by Garth Davis and stars Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor and others. It will be released in the U.K. on March 16th, 2018 and in the U.S. on March 30th, 2018. For international release dates click here.
Do you think audiences will give Mary Magdalene a fair shot? Let us know in the comments!
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