Movie Review: Mary (2024 film about Jesus's mother)

This 2024 film retells the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in a new way. I was looking forward to a movie set in biblical times showing the female point of view. However, this film seems to sacrifice biblical truth to achieve danger and drama.

Released: December 2024

Executive Producer: Joel Osteen

Producers: Mary Aloe, Gillian Hormel, Hannah Leader

Production companies: Aloe Entertainment; Luna Film

Music by: Timothy Williams

Director: D. J. Caruso

Starring: Noa Cohen (Mary), Ido Tako (Joseph), Anthony Hopkins (Herod the Great)

Distributed by: Netflix

Genre: Biblical Fiction; Historical fiction, Christian history

Pros:

• beautiful scenery and music

• retells the birth of Jesus from his mother's point of view

• Mary gains agency as she comes of age, saying "let it be me" to the conception and then protecting baby Jesus

• Concluding line: "Love will cost you dearly, it will pierce your heart, but in the end, love will save the world."

  
  

Cons:

• excessive violence

• Location of events is changed, with Mary growing up in Jerusalem, not Nazareth

• Mary is confused and has doubts as her parents give her for life to the Temple and then give her to Joseph.

• Angel Gabriel's message to Mary is threatening and foreboding, complete with thunderstorms, as opposed to a promise of good news

• Joseph is not informed of events by an angel

• Sequence of events is out of order, making the slaughtering of innocents earlier, and delaying the dedication at the temple until after Herod's soldiers are killing babies.

• Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are at risk without protection from God

Movie poster: Mary

Mary's Coming of Age

The IMDb describes this movie as a timeless coming-of-age story where Mary is shunned and forced to flee.

As a writer of novels set in biblical times highlighting the equal role of women in the stories of Jesus, I was interested to see Mary's development from girl to woman and mother. This story shows Mary growing mature, but mostly shows how others stop oppressing her.

Mary begins as a happy, laughing child. Her parents give her to the Temple as a pawn in their bargain with God. The Temple uses her for manual labour, regulates her schedule, and disciplines her for dallying in the gardens. Her parents then tell her to break the vow to the church because the angel has indicated Joseph should marry her. The angel Gabriel tells her God has chosen her. She is afraid and confused. Her first act of personal agency is when she agrees, saying "Let it be me".

Gender Equality

Unfortunately, the makers of this film confuse Mary becoming equal and having agency over her own life with her wanting to rule over men. The movie shows Mary ruling over her husband, telling him the name of the child and that they must dedicate Jesus at the Temple. In addition, Anne is portrayed as manipulative, holding secrets from her husband, and ruling over her husband. The film seems to confuse gender equality with making women rulers. A hierarchy with women ruling would be equally as harmful as a hierarchy with men ruling. I fight for gender equality, raising women to have the same respect and freedoms as men, cooperating together.

The biblical account shows Mary and Joseph mutually following God's guidance. They are each visited by an angel, each wants the baby to be named Jesus, and each wants to obey the law to dedicate newborns at the Temple eight days after birth. Becoming a mature woman does not mean becoming a ruler. The Bible provides a model of equality and mutuality.

Biblical Account

When writing a fiction set in biblical times, I rely on the Bible as my first source for timelines, plot points, and characterization. I use fiction to complete backstories and character development. However, this film skips facts revealed in the Bible and replaces them with scenes that are completely fiction, theologically misleading, or superfluously violent. The film veers from the biblical account in several ways:

• Mary and her parents, "Joachim of Nazareth", live on a farm on a hill very close to the Jerusalem Temple (instead of in Nazareth).

• The angel appears to Mary and announces the coming pregnancy in the Temple of Jerusalem (not in Nazareth)

• The angel's announcement is foreboding and Mary reacts in obedience and anxiety (the biblical announcement is good news and Mary reacts with a prophetic song of praise)

• Joseph does not know the baby is from God or should be named Jesus; he gains this information from Mary (the Bible says an angel informs Joseph).

• The sequence of events is rearranged so that Herod's slaughtering of the innocents puts Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus at risk (the Bible shows that God warns them in advance and protects them).

Catholic Elements

Where the Bible does not provide information, it is reasonable to look to other historical sources. Since the Bible does not detail Mary's parents or childhood, I had no problem with taking advantage of the Catholic tradition that names Anne and Joachim as Mary's parents. I had been unaware of the Catholic teaching that her parents gave Mary to the Temple at a young age. It is lovely to imagine that Mary was acquainted with the prophet Anna, who had lived in the Temple for decades and blessed the baby Jesus.

However, Catholics criticized the film as not showing Catholic teachings including Mary's immaculate conception and Mary's lack of pain in giving birth to the Holy Child.  It seems the filmmakers relied more on the non-biblical text "Protovangelium of James" than on the biblical account.

Truth vs Thriller

Netflix describes the film as "A miraculous conception. A merciless king. A murderous pursuit." The film seems to sacrifice an element of God's providence, guidance, and protection in order to present a thriller-style movie. When the angel tells Mary she will have a child, instead of Mary singing praises to God about the coming Messiah, she looks worried and afraid, thunder rolls, and music swells. The angel does not relieve her fears.

Instead of God protecting Mary, a demon attacks her in the Temple (the angel Gabriel saves her) and on the street (Joseph saves her). While the Bible shows God and his angels warning Joseph and Mary to leave Bethlehem before Herod's slaughter of the innocents, the film leaves them without God's warning, vulnerable to Herod's men. The film rearranges the sequence of events in order to put Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in mortal danger. This sacrifice of theological accuracy reminds me of the Left Behind series, which promotes an inaccurate view of the end times in order to facilitate a thriller-style action film series.

Spoilers Ahead:

Here is my chart contrasting the sequence of events in the film vs the biblical narrative.

Biblical account	Film
absent in Bible	Anne and Joachim promise God that if he gives them a baby they will dedicate the child to the Temple. God gives them the girl, Mary, and she has a happy life in the olive orchards. When she is a young girl, they give her to the Temple. She looks sad and afraid when she leaves her family. She is greeted by an elderly prophet, Anna, who seems to care for her. However, the priests give her manual chores, no free time and strict discipline. A demon-man seems to put her virtue at risk until angel Gabriel sends him away. Herod the Great persecutes the High Priest of the Temple, making him wear a crown of thorns. Joachim shelters zealots who oppose Herod the Great. The zealots are ready to fight.
Mary grew up in Nazareth.	Mary grew up in Jerusalem. Her father was Joachim of Nazareth but he owned a farm and lived just a couple of miles outside of Jerusalem.
Mary was in Nazareth and betrothed to Joseph when the Angel visited her and announced her coming pregnancy.	Gabriel leads Joseph to meet Mary in Jerusalem when she is doing Temple laundry and enjoying the breezes by the river. He asks Joachim for Mary's hand in marriage, explaining Gabriel led him to Mary.
Mary was afraid but the angel told her not to be afraid, that God chose her and strengthened her and that she should call the baby Jesus	Mary's mother tells Mary she is betrothed to Joseph. Mary is in the Temple in Jerusalem, praying to God about being kept uninformed and confused about God's plan for her, about breaking her vow to God to marry Joseph. An angel announces her coming pregnancy. Mary is afraid but agrees. Angel Gabriel seems threatening and does not relieve Mary's fears.
Mary is confused and asks how this can be	Mary is confused and doubtful: But this is not possible... Gabriel says all things are possible with God.
Mary consents, May it be so.	Mary is afraid and thunder rolls and the music swells as the angel leaves her. Mary consents: Let it be me.
Mary visits Elizabeth. Elizabeth's unborn baby leaps and Elizabeth blesses Mary and her baby.	Anne sends Mary away to Elizabeth and keeps her location secret from Joachim and Joseph. Elizabeth's unborn baby leaps and Elizabeth blesses Mary and her baby.
Mary sings a prophetic song praising God for fulfilling his promises, saving his people, and lifting up the humble (Luke 1)	Mary remains uncertain and afraid. Mary's prophetic song of praise is not in this film.
After Joseph and Mary are betrothed, she is found to be pregnant. Joseph is faithful to the law but does not want to disgrace her and makes plans to divorce her. An angel visits Joseph and explains the child is from the Holy Spirit and the child is to be named Jesus.	Joseph hears gossip that Mary is pregnant; his co-workers tell him she has shamed him and he should stone her. They beat him til he is unconscious and he wakes up looking at the sky, possibly a vision but he has now understanding of its meaning.
not in the Bible	Mary returns home. Her father says they could kill her for adultery. Anne reprimands her husband, repeating that it was the Spirit that made Mary pregnant. Joachim accepts Mary. Joachim refuses to tell Joseph where Mary is; Mary runs out to reconcile with Joseph. She is attacked by a mob who want to stone her to death. Violent scene.
Joseph awoke from the dream, did what the angel commanded, and took Mary home as his wife but they did not consummate the marriage until after the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1). He stays with Mary in obedience to the angel.	Joseph rescues Mary from a violent mob. Mary tells Joseph she was chosen for this. Joseph says he doesn't care about the mob, he will love the child and love Mary as best as he can. There's no indication of an angel visiting Joseph. He seems to decide to be loyal to Mary for no reason. They marry.
	While they're at the wedding, zealots break into the house of Joachim (near Jerusalem) to punish them for not following the law, and the family leaves.
Herod the Great (died 4 BC) was called King of the Jews. Herod Antipas lived during the time of Jesus and his title was Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. He did not rule over Judea and was not a king.	Roman guards seek Mary as a traitor carrying the so-called King of the Jews when Herod is king of the Jews. Someone tells the soldiers that Joachim is sheltering zealots at his nearby grove.
Joseph and Mary return to Bethlehem to obey the decree of Caesar Augustus who is taking a census. It is extra crowded in Bethlehem because of the census. Joseph went there with Mary who was "pledged to be married to him" (Luke 2).	Roman soldiers attack the family; violent scene. Mary's father is killed. Joseph and Mary will go to Bethlehem because his family is from there and they won't question them. However, he does not stay with his extended family. It is extra crowded in Bethlehem because of the prophecies that the Messiah will be born.
After Jesus is born in Bethlehem, Magi come looking for the one born to be king of the Jews. The number and names of the Magi are not in the Bible. Herod is disturbed and asks his advisors about the prophecies. He then tells the Magi to report back to him when they find the child (Matthew 2).	While the baby is not yet born, three wise men named Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar arrive and visit King Herod. He mocks them for following astrology and dreams. He does not tell them to return and inform him where the baby is.
	While pregnant, Mary is attacked by a demon who tempts her with questions about why God would choose her and make her suffer. The demon carries Mary away but Joseph stabs the demon with a knife and saves her. The film does not indicate that any angel protects Mary.
Joseph knows the child must be named Jesus since the angel told him so. Joseph stays with Mary in obedience to the angel. God chose him to adopt Jesus as his son. Traditionally the Magi visit is at Epiphany, about two weeks after the birth. The Magi see Jesus at a house (Matthew 2).	Mary tells the baby that she chooses him just as he chose her. Joseph asks Mary what they should name the baby and she says Jesus. Mary thanks Joseph for staying, saying he did not need to (since she is the one chosen who got pregnant). Joseph confirms they are his family (without saying that the angel informed him or indicating God chose him and told him to marry her). The Magi visit and present gifts at the place where Jesus was born.
Joseph and Mary fulfil the law by taking the newborn Jesus to the Temple (Luke 2).	This is moved to the end of the film.
Angels appear to shepherds and announce good news of the birth of the saviour and the shepherds go to worship Jesus (Luke 2). Shepherds do not go to Herod.	A shepherd appears before Herod the Great and says there was a great light and the sheep were silenced in awe. The shepherd reports that there were pilgrims going to visit the baby. Shepherds and angels appearing to shepherds are not in this film. Herod the Great orders that all the babies in Bethlehem be killed. Violence.
Prior to Herod ordering the slaughter of babies, an angel tells Joseph and Mary to escape to Egypt (Matthew 2). An angel also told the Magi not to report back to Herod.	Mary and Joseph leave Bethlehem but Roman soldiers are in hot pursuit. Violence follows as the innkeepers are killed and Mary and Joseph escape by a close call.
The biblical account does not have babies brought to Herod's castle. Mary and Joseph have already left Bethlehem. The Bible does not show Herod ever regretting his violence.	As Mary and Joseph escape, she says they must stop and go to the Temple to dedicate the baby. At this point, the road is filled with soldiers hunting them. The soldiers have brought newborns to Herod's castle and he seems to be going mad looking for the Messiah. The angel Gabriel tells Herod his time is ending. The servants abandon Herod but leave the babies, who are silenced. Herod appears lost, repentant.
The Temple prophets Anna and Simeon bless baby Jesus. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus lived in Egypt until Herod died. Then, instructed by an angel, they go to Nazareth in Galilee.	The prophetess Anna allows Mary, Joseph and Jesus to escape the guards. Anna blesses Jesus. Simeon prophecies that the sword will pierce Mary's soul and reveal the thoughts of many.

Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:

• Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1 (2022)

• The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)

• Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor (2024)

• Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)