Let’s dive into the controversial 2018 film starring Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix , Mary Magdalene.
Fictional biblical dramas are often highly criticized for any detail which slightly varies from the gospel narratives. The faithful can be quick to become defensive. For me personally, while watching the 2018 film Mary Magdalene, I quickly became enthralled in the “what ifs?” Which I do not believe is a bad thing.
We learn the basic timeline of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection from the New Testament, but many details are left a mystery. We know a group of 12 men joined Jesus as His apostles, but we do not know much about them other than perhaps their names, former occupation and origins. In the movie Mary Magdalene, we see the one possible theory of character development for the apostles Peter and Judas. Although the movie was titled Mary Magdalene I couldn’t stop thinking about Judas as I watched it. Again, it is important to note that the movie is a fictionalized drama, yet it is thought-provoking to ponder the motivations of the infamous betrayer of Jesus.
Judas’s character is immediately introduced as sweet and likeable, even if naïve. While the other men of the group are standoffish toward Mary Magdalene, he is the one who befriends her. In his first conversations with her we learn that his wife and daughter died as a result of King Herod’s harsh tax laws. Though as he speaks to Mary Magdalene about this tragedy, he is shockingly upbeat. Why? Because when Jesus speaks of the new “Kingdom” he takes it literally and truly believes his wife and daughter will be brought back to life here on earth and they will all live happily ever after.
For being one of the twelve and for as forgiving as Jesus is, it is somewhat surprising that all we think of when it comes to Judas is his betrayal. All we know for certain is that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, later regretted his decision, and hanged himself. The movie depicts an interesting theory of “why.” While history has (and perhaps for warranted reasons) villainized Judas, Mary Magdalene humanizes Judas. He is not a man motivated by money, yet he truly believes is serving as a catalyst, expediting the promises of Jesus that his suffering has long caused him to misunderstand. Frankly, the viewer cannot help but feel sorry for the man.
Through the movie Mary Magdalene is elevated as the one woman in a group of men who truly understands the messages Jesus speaks. Peter for example, seems to believe Jesus’ followers will overthrow the Roman empire and serve more or less as soldiers. It appears some people find offense to the negative portrayal of Peter in this film but come on, if Mary Magdalene can be inaccurately depicted as a prostitute for 1,400 years, Peter can handle his slightly less than perfect representation in one movie.
If one watches the movie ready to nit-pick every biblical inaccuracy, they will sadly miss the objective. In large what we know for certain about Mary Magdalene, is that she was the minority sex following Jesus, she was present at His death and burial, and she was the first person He appeared to after His resurrection. Therefore, what we can deduce about Mary Magdalene is that she was brave, loyal, and very special to Jesus. Can you even imagine as a woman in the first century, leaving the safety of your family to follow an unknown rabbi and a group of men? Mary Magdalene had the strength and conviction to follow her instinct to grow her relationship with God. How does the world repay her? By deducing her to a prostitute, mistress, or temptress of Jesus.
To me the film affirms that message our world needs to be reminded of the most: Jesus did view women as equals and women were indeed critical to the early Christian church. Similar to any book turned movie, no film about the bible is every going to get it completely right. You can take it at face value and use it as a tool that instigates your imagination to study the bible, or you can cry blasphemy as you sit in fear for what elevating an early female leader of the Christian church means to us today. Watch it for yourself and let your heart decide. To watch on Amazon Prime click here.