FanPost

Old School Movie Review I: In the Beginning, there was the Word

Now I personally have no idea what was supposed to be so controversial about this movie. The performances are capturing, the sets are beautiful, and the cinematography is some of Scorsese's best.

This movie gives a more human look at the life of Jesus, and in my opinion, is the most probable Christ we have ever seen on film. If Jesus was a man, he most certainly dealt with the daily temptations that man deals with.

Willem Dafoe is a wonderful Jesus Christ. He is also menacing and controlling. His Jesus is one that is driven by his desire to fulfill God's will. Dafoe presents us a Jesus who has honestly been drinking too much of his own kool-aid. If I was the son of God though, I might get a bit of a big head too.

This is not too say that this Jesus is not a compassionate and caring one. In fact, this is the most loving Jesus ever portrayed on film. We see him save the prostitute and heal the blind man. We also see a Jesus who is content with giving up the desires of a man in order to save mankind. Jesus is also rather violent in this movie. He tears out his own heart.

The best performance in this movie is Harvey Keitel's portrayal of Judas Iscariot(although David Bowie's Pontius Pilate is freaking awesome). Keitel portrays a sympathetic, and caring Judas who is tricked into betraying Jesus by Jesus. Judas is not a bad man. In fact, he is Jesus' greatest hype man, encouraging Jesus to follow God's plan for him. It's a take on Judas I don't believe anyone has dared to play.

The film was shot in Israel and the attention to detail is evident. Filmed on half of it's budget, this movie really does do more with less.

Overall, it was a fantastic movie and one that everyone should see if they would like to see a different, more human take on Jesus Christ's life. It also doesn't hurt that it's a Scorsese film.

8/10

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