Mary

Aroview: Badboy dir. Abel Ferrara returns to form with an intense, unpredictable study of Christian faith and the possiblities of redemption in the modern world, resonating and complicating the blunt controversies surrounding Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.

Matthew Modine plays the director of a speculative film about Jesus 'This is My Blood', which stars himself in the lead role and Juliette Binoche as Mary Magdalene. When the film is about to open a year later, Modine becomes embroiled in a talkshow host's (Whitaker) desire to tap the public debates swirling about the release. Further complications surround the fate of Binoche, who following the shooting had an religious ephiphany and moved to Jerusalem!

Log-jammed with weighty themes and subplots, this boasts some impassioned performances and a heart-stopping monologue by Whitaker, which help ride over the somewhat confusing setup.

NZ International Film Festival 2006

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