Review of The Nativity Story (2006) by Eric O — 20 Mar 2008

[font=Arial]There have been jokes about what Catherine Hardwicke would do this tale, considering that she had made the modern teenage nightmare Thirteen. I didn't think it was too far-fetched. Her understanding of youth gave her an edge on this story because she understood the mindset of teenagers in general. What she has made is a more realistic look at the events around the birth of Jesus Christ by focusing on a young Mary and Joseph, and giving us one of the most fulfilling love stories ever.

Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is a 16 year old girl who gets married to a 20-year-old Joseph when he helps her father out when the tax man came. The law declares that they cannot consumate the marriage for a year, which doesn't bother either one of them too much. Mary's feelings towards her new husband is just on the tip of indifference. But then she gets the dream telling her of the new arrival, and as proof of this the angel Gabriel tells her about her cousin Elizabeth's pregnancy (which is amazing, since she's in her late fourties). She goes to see her cousin to help prepare her for her own pregnancy. When she returns to her village months later, the first thing people notice is her swollen belly. Needless to say that Joseph is a little upset.

This is where the film delivers. First, Joseph faces his own anguish concerning Mary's pregnancy, which is finally quelled by a dream of his own. With this acceptance comes new questions concerning his role in the new baby's life. Mary's also scared, considering that she doesn't know what to expect with the birth of the King of Kings. And then there's King Herod (Ciran Hinds), whose growing increasingly paranoid about the prophacy of this birth, to the point he's willing to execute all newborns in his kingdom (obviously he wasn't privy to the story of Moses). And then there are the Three Wise Nerds...I mean Men. Oh, come on, you know any group of men who bring their calculators (even VERY PRIMATIVE ones) with them on a road trip knows their way around a pocket protecter. But what the story does with these characters is understands them, gives them purpose other than to just be there. They have ideas and dreams which are explored but not really explained.

Keisha Castle Hughes gives a performance of incredible depth as Mary. She plays this character internally, allowing the audiance to see her from the inside instead as merely a vessel of a miraculous birth. Considering all the versions of Mary put on the screen prior, it seems that Mary isn't given much of a chance to be a woman. Hughes takes this chance to show us how a 16 year old would natuarlly respond to being pregnant, virginal or otherwise. The scenes with Joseph are very endearing and believeable from their very uncomfortable wedding and early days to their journey the Bethlehem where they begin to bond and become truly in love with each other. Other romances fall short from this kind of understanding and individualism.

Director Catherine Hardwicke gives us a very well-thought out version of the story, designed with a natual look and feel to the environment with a well-rounded cast to bring out the most in an adaptation that could have felt cheap and cardboard cutout under the wrong circumstances. There are times when the film goes from deeply embedded realism into flights of mysticism, but even these are controlled rather well and do not wallow in the fantastic. When Christ is born, I found myself just as excited about the birth as those on the screen, partially because of my faith, but also because the film made me believe in the events Hardwicke shows us.

All in all, this is the film that all Christian movies try to be. The problem is that "Christian" films try to see the product of their faith, not the hope their faith offers. The Nativity Story isn't trying to sell religion to you, it's just interested in telling a good story and lets you believe what you want. Isn't that what Christ would have wanted in films about him; just a little humility? Other movies seem not to think so.[/font].