Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Shoreh Aghdashloo
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Category: I
A better title might be the naivety story. If you've never heard of a carpenter named Joseph and his platonic wife Mary - or for that matter, their little boy who made quite a name for himself - then perhaps you'll be intrigued by what happens in this moribund rendering of their story.
Otherwise, this stolid version of the birth of Christ adds nothing new to the biblical film canon. It seemed some studio executive thought, 'How about a prequel to The Passion of the Christ?' and his boss replied, 'Ok, but nothing too liberal or subversive to alienate the religious nuts!' The result is this Sunday school pap told without any sense of drama. At least Mel Gibson's ecclesiastical blockbuster had passion. The Nativity Story barely has a pulse.
Other than giving more geographical detail and historical accuracy to Judea, Mary and Joseph are mostly expressionless characters. The washed-out colours and harsh agrarian life depicted early on suggests a docu-realist alternative to gospel epic but, for whatever reason, director Catherine Hardwicke just let her initial momentum dissipate. After some exploration of real emotions and anxiety - wouldn't you fret if your unconsummated wife is impregnated by you know who? - the holy couple fade back into mute faithfuls seen in every previous cinematic version. As faint themes from familiar seasonal carols creep into the soundtrack, it becomes less about a modern retelling than a Christmas bonanza. Equally disappointing is Keisha Castle-Hughes, the young actress whose turn in Whale Rider made her an Academy Awards nominee. Her olive skin and dark mangled hair should finally banish the image of Mary as a blond, blue-eyed angelic virgin once and for all. But after starting out as a tough and defiant teen, the immaculate conception just seems to take all the feistiness out of her.
