Mary Parent Guide

Her portrait adorns paintings, her statues fill cathedrals, devout souls pray to her, and her name graces churches, hospitals, and schools. But we know little of the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. With Mary, executive producer (and televangelist) Joel Osteen, writers, and film crew, attempt to give her the backstory that the New Testamentomitted. The film provides plenty of action, drama, and danger, but viewers should be aware that this tale is far from the gospel truth.

There’s a market for what I term “Bible-adjacent” films. These movies might be inspired by a scriptural story or they are set in the approximate time period of a Biblical event and feature non-canonical characters. For the most part, they endeavor to impart Christian messages, but some simply aim for drama. Mary tries to do both. And fails.

The challenge with creating a feature-length film about the life of Mary is that the New Testamentprovides very little detail beyond her faithful submission to the will of God. To fill in the blanks, screenwriter Timothy Michael Hayes bases some of his narrative on the Gospel of James, an apocryphal testament rejected by Christian faiths. Hayes goes all out, giving Mary (Noa Cohen) a miraculous birth story of her own, making her a servant of the temple in Jerusalem, penning a brush with Lucifer (a.k.a. Satan), and throwing in some violent action sequences. Unfortunately, the script doesn’t work. It’s riddled with logical and scriptural inconsistencies – for instance, while the Bible describes Bethlehem’s inns as being full for the census, this tale insists that the city is full because followers of the Messiah have come to await his birth. There’s also a strange scene where Mary and Joseph fight their way free from Herod’s troops, only to bring the baby Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem. The temple visit is scripturally accurate, but in the squirrelly world of the script, it’s a reckless act that makes no sense.

The film is also burdened by its inconsistent cast. Noa Cohen and Ido Tako do a fine job as Mary and Joseph, effectively giving us characters who are courageous, devout, and pure of heart. But Anthony Hopkins delivers what’s easily the worst performance of his career. He seems completely disinterested in the role (or embarrassed by it) and barely manages to stir up a flicker of emotion until the end of the film. I say this with the greatest of respect for a legendary actor, but if this is the best he can do, maybe it’s time to retire.

Throughout this production’s runtime, I couldn’t help but compare it to Journey to Bethlehem, a Nativity musical that debuted in 2023. That was also a mediocre film, but it was mediocre in a cheerful, well-intentioned kind of way. In contrast, Mary often feels brooding and creepy. The angel Gabriel is a morose, tattooed figure with intense, angry eyes who could easily be playing a villain instead of a heavenly messenger. And Lucifer’s appearances in the movie are suitably dark and disturbing. Herod’s troops ride across Judea with the vibe of the Nazgul from the The Lord of the Rings, and there are repeated scenes of violence, torture, child abduction, and death.

Thanks to its violence and disturbing content, Netflix has given Mary a PG-13 rating, which is well deserved. Don’t watch it with little kids. Don’t show it to your Sunday School class. And don’t watch it with anyone who cares about the Christmas story found in the Bible. This isn’t a movie that will fill you with peace and joy; it’s more likely to leave you with feelings of dread and doom. And frankly, I like my Christmases with a lot more light and hope than this movie provides.