The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Directed by Mel Gibson. Starring Jim Caviezel, Mattia Sbragia, Hristo Naumov Shopov, Maia Morgenstern, Christo Jivkov, Luca Lionello, Monica Bellucci, Francesco De Vito, Toni Bertorelli, Rossella Vetrano. [R]

Grueling depiction of “the Passion” from director Mel Gibson (who also co-scripted and co-produced), which rigorously checks off the boxes found in the Gospels while adding a few non-canonical touches sourced elsewhere, determined with the fervor of a madman to rub the viewer’s nose in the “gory details” of this pageant of pain for far longer than needed to get the point across. The excessive use of dramatic slo-mo, accompanied by John Debney’s searing but frequently monotonous score, is a directorial blunder—to say nothing for the claims of antisemitism in its illustration of the Pharisees, which are hard to overlook or deny—but in terms of intent, Gibson’s images and atmosphere work; it’s the intent that causes the experience to drag out, drain, and ultimately collapse. Would those unfamiliar with the details of Jesus’ final hours even understand what’s happening during the first act? Isn’t the effect of so much slow, agonizing torture more numbing (even boring) than moving/harrowing at this length? Would Jesus have preferred viewers to focus on his suffering more than his teachings and message of love? There’s little sense of love at all in this grim, depressing bloodbath, but the God-fearing faithful and sadomasochists will get their fill, and if this is what it takes to inspire the masses these days… It’s hard to even rate Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of the Christ since, aside from a few very brief flashbacks, all he’s called upon to do is to look as miserable yet stoic as possible for two hours while the makeup team slathers him in fake blood, bruises and wounds—all physical contortions of the actor’s body, no exposure of the Christian messiah’s soul. One telling aspect of Gibson’s idea of emotional call-and-repsonse as a substitute for spiritual awakening: in terms of dialogue and screentime, “antagonists” Caiaphas and Pilate have a significantly greater presence than the two Mary’s (mother & Magdalene), who are mostly seen weeping on the sidelines in silent agony. Despite all its consequential faults, the film proved quite popular with church groups across the U.S. at the time of its release, and remains, as of 2024, the highest-grossing R-rated film in North America.

32/100