A new movie about the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is sparking debate among viewers and religious scholars alike.
“Mary,” a Biblical epic streaming now on Netflix, tells the story of the Nativity through the eyes of Mary of Nazareth (Noa Cohen). The film follows Mary, Joseph (Ido Tako) and the newborn Jesus as they escape persecution from King Herod (Anthony Hopkins).
“Mary is the most extraordinary woman ever to walk this earth, yet her story remains largely unknown beyond a few passages in the Bible,” director D.J. Caruso told Netflix’s Tudum blog.
“I embarked on this journey — to create a film that presents her in her most human and relatable form,” he continued, adding that his aim was “to portray Mary as someone we can all connect with, not just as a saint but as the young woman we all recognize before her sanctification.”
Producer Mary Aloe said her intention was to make Mary and Joseph’s story “relatable,” speaking to The Christian Post, and tell a story of a “young girl becoming a woman in the midst of such divine expectations.”
While some viewers are praising the film, which has been in Netflix’s Top 10 for much of the time since its debut on the streaming platform Dec. 6, others have objected to what they views as the movie’s Biblical and historical inaccuracies. Others have objected to the casting.
What religious scholars are saying about ‘Mary’
Religious scholars have had mixed reactions to “Mary,” as they debate perceived inaccuracies in the portrayal.
Christy Cobb, a assistant professor of Christianity in the department of religious studies at the University of Denver, says the field of Biblical studies has been alight with discussions about the film. She first heard about “Mary” through a post on Facebook — “a rant post,” she says.
“Biblical scholars are hearing about these movies, and then we get excited, and then when we watch it, we’re like, ‘Oh, this isn’t depicting Biblical stories as accurately or historical moments as accurately as we hope that they would be,’” she says.
There’s “very little” about Mary in the Bible, Cobb says. Aspects of Mary’s character in the movie are based on passages of the New Testament (the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke) and an early Christian text called the Proto Gospel of James.
Filmmakers took creative liberties with Mary’s depiction, Cobb says. Cobb appreciated that the film’s Mary is more “fiery and rebellious” than commonly depicted. “I like that we’re depicting Mary as this full character with some agency, courage and her fears at the surface,” she says.
But other historical inaccuracies stood out.
The movie places modern conservative family values onto the Holy Family in a way that is “not supported by the text” or by historical context, Cobb, who is working on a book about early Christian families, says.
“The Holy Family was depicted (in the movie) as a nuclear family. Joseph is immediately supportive of Mary and will protect Mary at all costs,” she says.
The Bible, however, says that Joseph wanted to divorce Mary. Families also “looked quite different” in that era than they do today, Cobb says. Divorces were common and there would have been more people living in the household than depicted in “Mary.”
“In the Bible, all sorts of families are represented, not just one view of a family system,” she says.
The result, Cobb says, is “we’re having the the debate about what a Christian family (should) look like, superimposed upon this film.”
Producer Mary Aloe, speaking to Christian Post, said that script approval came from “a range of religious leaders” to “ensure authenticity.”
However, only one person, Adam W. Schindler, is listed as a Biblical consultant on IMDB. Schindler is a pastor and the chief digital officer of the conservative nonprofit think tank America First Policy Institute, founded by two former advisors to president Donald Trump. The movie is funded, in part, by megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, per IMDB.
TODAY.com has reached out to Aloe Entertainment, Schindler and Caruso for comment about script consultants.
Other aspects of the movie — including Mary’s more down-to-earth characterization — are sparking debate for straying from doctrine.
Some Catholic commentators have objected to the depiction of Mary’s labor pains during the birth of Jesus, because showing Mary suffering during childbirth “does not comport with Catholic teaching,” Joseph Pronechen wrote in a review for the National Catholic Register.
“From the beginning, the Fathers and doctors of the Church, including Sts. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, have taught that Mary alone would be exempt from such pains as a sign of her unique holiness,” he sayss in his review. “She alone had no original sin.”
Caruso addressed his choice to show Mary in pain during labor in a recent interview with Christianity Today.
“Regarding the labor pains: That’s about presenting Mary in a human way, acknowledging that she had apprehensions,” he said. “I think something like a third of women died in childbirth in antiquity.”
Nathanael Andrade, a chair and professor of history at Binghamton University, who has written a forthcoming book about the crucifixion of Jesus, also pointed out a “serious problem” for movies like “Mary” and others that portray the life of Jesus.
“The often portray everyone in ancient Jewish society that did not support Jesus as nurturing base or corrupt motivations. Such films run a serious risk of feeding pernicious anti-Semitic attitudes,” he said in an email statement to TODAY.com.
Why the casting of Mary also stirred up controversy
“Mary” ruffled feathers outside of the religious community. Some people have objected to the casting of Noa Cohen, a Jewish Israeli actor, as Mary. Several other actors in the movie, including Ido Tako, who plays Joseph, and Keren Tzur, who plays Elizabeth, are also Israeli.
The real Mary was believed to be a Jewish woman from Nazareth, Galilee. At the time of Mary’s birth, Galilee was a region in ancient Palestine. Today, it is located in northern Israel.
Online, some viewers believe Mary should have been portrayed by an Arab Palestinian actor in the new movie, pointing to modern conflicts in the region. Others defended the casting of a Jewish actor to play Mary.
Caruso spoke to the casting decision in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “ It was important to us that Mary, along with most of our primary cast, be selected from Israel to ensure authenticity,” he said.
Speaking to Netflix’s press site Tudum, Caruso said it was his “goal” to find an actor “from the region where Mary was born to play her.”
“I felt like if we could find a great young Jewish actress, that would be amazing,” he told Netflix’s Tudum.
“I just know that Noa did an amazing job. She’s a fantastic actress. She’s got this grace and beauty, and at the same time, she’s accessible. I’m so proud of her performance, and I think it should be celebrated. It has nothing to do with politics,” he said.
“The idea of the movie is to spread love, and art is hopefully a uniter,” he added. “It’s not supposed to be something that separates anybody.”