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The
Passion of The Christ
Mel Gibson, Italy / USA, 2004
Rating: 2.5
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Posted: February 26,
2004
By
Laurence Station
The moviegoing public should breathe a collective sigh of relief. Mel
Gibson has taken the last half-day of Jesus' life and condensed it to a
two-hour movie. Considering the painstaking degree of period accuracy he
strives for, we can be thankful he didn't film a twelve-hour account of
his Savior's time on Earth. (And people thought
The Return of the King
was too long.)
What Gibson does deliver is a brutally up-close-and-personal
examination of just how much punishment the human body can withstand. As
played with ultra-masochistic fervor by James Caviezel, Jesus is pummeled,
scourged, spat upon, whipped through the streets of Jerusalem and,
ultimately, nailed to a cross and left to die via asphyxiation. It is not,
to put it lightly, a pleasant sight. And that's exactly how Gibson wants
it. The audience is visually bludgeoned by just how great and agonizing
Jesus' suffering was. There are no allusions, no shortcuts to the hill of
Golgotha outside the city walls. This is one passion play drenched in more
blood than the crowds at the infamous Roman Colosseum witnessed at its
Grand Guignol height.
Clearly, the death of Jesus is a passionate topic for many, and
Gibson's interpretation of the events isn't intended to please everyone.
As such, we get a pretty good insight into the director's take on what
happened over two thousand years ago in Palestine's holiest city. Jesus is
captured in the Garden of Gethsemane late at night by temple guards who've
been tipped off by a very conflicted Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello).
Jesus' followers flee. The Jewish High Priests, or Sanhedrin, led by
Caiphas (Mattia Sbragia), consider Jesus a rabble-rouser who threatens
their authority. Unfortunately, they have nothing to pin on him.
Fortunately for them, though, Jesus claims to be the Son of God -- a
capital offense, especially if you don't have the right messianic
connections. Caiphas wants Jesus executed, but has to get permission from
Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov) first. Pilate is the beleaguered
Roman governor of Judea, a real backwater burg that isn't exactly
advancing his career. Pilate waffles on the issue of condemning Jesus to
death, torn in part by the fact that his wife Claudia (Claudia Gerini) is
convinced Jesus is holy. Pilate doesn't want to rock the political boat,
either. If he doesn't keep the province in line, he could lose more than
his title and position. At the insistent urging of Caiphas and an unruly
mob, Pilate literally washes his hands of the entire affair and orders
Jesus crucified.
Throughout, an androgynous, creepy Satan (Rosalinda Celentano, sans
eyebrows) slithers in and out of the proceedings, mocking and tempting
Jesus at every turn. On the flipside, the film's greatest example of
humanity comes in the form of Maia Morgenstern, who plays Jesus' mother
Mary. The sight of a heartbroken mother watching her son suffer unbearable
punishment is genuine and extremely effective. Monica Bellucci's Mary
Magdalene, on the other hand, is mostly wasted.
We do get key flashbacks during the trial, torture and execution of
Jesus, primarily dealing with the Last Supper and happier times at home
with Mother Mary. The heart of the film, however, is the sadistic assault
on Jesus' body. Every sin ever committed appears to be present and
accounted for via the innumerable lashes covering Jesus' wracked frame.
Defenders will say people must see for themselves the tremendous suffering
Jesus underwent in order to save us all. Fine, but wallowing in gore is
not the most effective means of making a point. Gibson could have cut the
number of lashes, beatings and taunts by a third and still conveyed a
potent message regarding sacrifice and redemption.
The biggest problem, however, is the very nature of the passion play, a
form born during medieval times. By not examining the full spectrum of
Jesus' life on Earth (birth, teachings, passion, crucifixion and
resurrection), there is no larger context against which to understand why
he suffered so horribly. Obviously, the last few days of his life are the
most dramatic, but to presume everyone who witnesses the film understands
the backstory is presumptuous, to say the least. The cycle of Jesus' life
contains teachings of tolerance and goodwill toward all people. If we're
just given the gruesome aspect, what are we to take away from it? Don't
rock the boat or this will happen to you? That's exactly the message the
Romans were attempting to send with crucifixions in the first place.
There's no celebration of life here, no counterbalance to the cut flesh
and broken bones, and that is the film's great failing.
From a purely technical aspect, The Passion is impressive. Caleb
Deschanel's photography is stellar, from the eerie blues of night to the
dusty yellows of early day. John Debney's score is dramatic without being
overplayed. The acting is committed, though the bestial turn by the
majority of Roman soldiers is a prime example of excess to the point of
caricature.
Mel Gibson has created a Passion that will certainly appeal to those
who believe suffering is the key to salvation. And for a director who's
made his fortune as the star of incredibly violent movies, it would seem
he's finally found the perfect vehicle to slake his Herculean bloodlust,
critics be damned.
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