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Critics Consensus: Mary Magdalene has obvious reverence for its subject; unfortunately, it lacks enough momentum or depth of character to make her story interesting.
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Critic Consensus: Mary Magdalene has obvious reverence for its subject; unfortunately, it lacks enough momentum or depth of character to make her story interesting.
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (35)
It ripples with interesting ideas, but the overall effect is glassy and inert, with Rooney Mara's Mary an oddly elusive presence in the film that carries her name.
Mary Magdalene only snaps into focus as narrative when we get to Jerusalem, chiefly because it gives these kids something to physically rail against - moneylenders, Judas kisses, Romans, and all. It's a little on the late side, though.
Other than to show that a woman called Mary who wasn't a prostitute was involved in the final weeks of the Jesus story, I have no idea what the filmmakers wanted for this project. I'm pretty sure they didn't achieve it.
Hushed, deliberate and realised with considerable care and beauty, the resulting film has its heart entirely in the right place; its pulse, unfortunately, is far harder to locate.
A well-constructed drama, but one that will inform rather than inspire.
Navel-gazing and listless, Mary Magdalene is nevertheless an affecting, contemplative hagiography of a biblical figure which is more inclined towards an arthouse aesthetic than anything in the "faith-based" sub-genre.
Doesn't have the teeth to properly wrestle with its theological themes nor the bite to give the titular figure's perspective any real clarity.
Davis keeps the effort crawling along, electing to make something visually appealing and insular than traditionally dramatic.
So earnest and reverent that it's just dull.
I'll freely admit that I'm not a religious person and perhaps this influences my opinion... but I didn't find Mary Magdalene to be an interesting character.
Rooney Mara is a remarkable actress, suggestive, sober, but her presence does not alleviate in the midst of so much boredom. [Full Review in Spanish]
An intermittently convincing film about belief, rather than a film to believe in.
For a film about Mary Magdalene, there is sadly too much here about Jesus Christ and "God's design" and not enough about herself, as she becomes little more than a passive spectator in a story that poorly tries to depict life as a woman in such a strongly patriarchal society.
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