Stylistically sophisticated and emotionally visceral
Mary (2008)
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:10
Rotten:6
Average Rating:5.8/10
Theatrical Release:Oct 17, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: Anthology Film Archives is thrilled to present the over-due New York Theatrical Premiere Run of Abel Ferrara’s Mary. Auteur Tony (Modine) is directing and starring in a new film about Jesus. After... Anthology Film Archives is thrilled to present the over-due New York Theatrical Premiere Run of Abel Ferrara’s Mary. Auteur Tony (Modine) is directing and starring in a new film about Jesus. After the shoot, left drained and alone in Jerusalem, lead actress Marie (Binoche) is entered by the spirit of Mary Magdalene, and embarks on a journey of enlightenment. Meanwhile, in NY, TV journalist Ted (Whitaker) begins his own quest for spiritual truth through his documentary about Christ. When Tony’s film is targeted by the violent and vengeful religious Right, the lives of these three characters collide. Legendary maverick Abel Ferrara explores the greatest story ever told in a deeply personal, revelatory and effortlessly controversial style. --© Anthology Archives [More]
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Modine, Heather Graham
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Modine, Heather Graham, Marion Cotillard
Director: Abel Ferrara
Director: Abel Ferrara
Studio: IFC Films
Reviews for Mary
Many Ferrara faithful fetching for something uncanny will line up and get what they bargained for.
Cult director Abel Ferrara bites off more than he can chew with this murky, unfocused exploration of religion and faith in the age of media madness.
Mary is a convoluted, hysterical mess of a movie with grandiose spiritual airs and not a drop of humor.
It feels like the kind of snoozy artistic modulation that critics often confuse for maturation.
Tightly framed and tightly wound, Mary is a claustrophobic, incandescent, nutty 83 minutes with everyone in the cast teetering on the ledge of madness.
Very little of this mess works in any conventional sense, but as the performances begin to redline, the movie examines the relationship between performance and contrition.
Ferrara presents his ideas in what's meant to be a meditation on the nature of faith but ends up an incoherent, pretentious mess.
...both Forest Whitaker and Juliette Binoche (as with the rest of the cast) give such amazing performances that they should be added to the list of the best work of their careers.
Somehow turns confusion into a concise study on what it means to believe in god in this day and age.
A serious-minded film about the confusion and anxiety that mark a true inquisition into one's faith.
Latest News for Mary
October 03, 2008:
Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary
As the NFT in London prepares a Juliette Binoche season, Kim looks at Abel Ferrara's Mary which also stars Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker. More...
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