Film Details:
The Nativity Story (PG)
Drama(2006)
100mins US
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Ciaran Hinds, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Read Stephanie Hall's review
Read Sophie Abell's review

LondonNet Film Review by Stephanie Hall

The Nativity Story
It used to be that the majority of films based on biblical stories were relegated to low-budget shoots and straight-to-video releases. Hopefully the result of Mel Gibson's hugely successful The Passion of the Christ isn't the adaptation of every story in the bible, but a movie depicting the Nativity seems to be an appropriate, and inevitable, Christmas release...

For those in need of a plot set-up: Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is chosen to give birth to the Son of God, the prophesised Messiah, Jesus. Recently promised to Joseph (Oscar Isaac), the young Mary must not only break the news of her virgin pregnancy to him, but also risk travelling nine months pregnant to Bethlehem after King Herod orders a census. Out of fear that the prophecy of the Messiah will overthrow his rule, the king gives orders for the Massacre of the Innocents, the killing of every male child under the age of two. Will Mary make it? I won't spoil the ending.

The best part of the film is its exploration of the story beyond the text of the Bible. Mike Rich fills in the gaps with a realistic simplicity, depicting Mary with sweet humanity as opposed to portraying her as divine. She is a young girl, afraid to marry a man she does not know, but bravely accepting her mission.

Obviously, a few liberties are taken. For example, apparently the wise men were quite the funny brood. Extra drama is added, which is understandable, but ineffective at times. Scenes such as Mary falling off their donkey as she and Joseph trek across a river are unnecessarily contrived.

As Mary, Castle-Hughes (the Oscar-nominated 16-year-old actress from Whale Rider) proves capable, but does seem to spend the entire film with one look on her face, a mix between worried, confused, and a little bit bored. Hughes' youth is the best thing she has going for her. Employing a 20- or 25-year-old would have taken away from the tone: Mary's fear of marriage, her innocence, and her naivete.

The Nativity has a hard time walking the fine-line of religious imagery, where a film that takes itself so seriously has to find a classic, but not clichéd way to depict divinity. The scenes where angels appear to Mary and Joseph in the beginning could be right out of one of those straight-to-video religious films. The ray of light that shines from a star down to the newborn Jesus pushes the Nativity into cliché territory.

Christmas is upon us, and for those who really wish to remember what it's all about, the Nativity shouldn't disappoint. For others, however, the price of admission might be better spent on a stocking-stuffer.

- Stephanie Hall

LondonNet Film Review by Sophie Abell

The Nativity Story
Surprisingly, the story of the Nativity - as described in the Biblical Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and performed every Christmas by eager primary schoolchildren - has never been immortalized as a big screen epic. Until now...

Influenced in no small part by the huge box office takings of The Passion Of The Christ, I'm sure, director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) and screenwriter Mike Rich (Finding Forrester) join forces on this beautifully crafted story of the birth of Jesus.

The Nativity Story is certainly a vision: production designer Stefano Maria Ortlani recreates Nazareth in the rolling green hills of Matera, Italy, complete with a synagogue and wine press around the focal point: the town well. And cinematographer Elliot Davis contrasts the breathtaking terrain with the intimate story of the young Mary and Joseph as they overcome various obstacles to reach their goal.

However, there's nothing challenging, provocative or particularly moving about Hardwicke's film, apart perhaps from three mildly comical wise men. This is a yuletide greetings card at 24 frames per second. Opening with the Massacre of the Innocents at the behest of King Herod (Ciaran Hinds), the film rewinds 12 months to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem where the priest Zechariah (Stanley Townsend) receives a vision from God. Soon after, his wife Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo) subsequently falls pregnant.

In the town of Nazareth, Joaquim (Shaun Toub) and his wife Anna (Hiam Abbass) reveal to their daughter Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) that they have agreed her marriage to Joseph (Isaac). The young woman is distraught: "Why do they force me to marry a man I do not know? A man I do not love?" she laments.

In the ancient olive grove, Mary is visited by The Angel Gabriel (Alexander Siddig), who tells her that she has been chosen to bear the son of God. Struggling to comprehend the visitation, Mary visits Elizabeth where her miraculous pregnancy begins to show. She returns to Nazareth and is shunned by everyone including her parents, who believe she has slept with someone other than her betrothed. Joseph is heartbroken. His faith is soon restored following his own visit from The Angel Gabriel. When every man is ordered to return to the place of his birth as part of a census, Joseph and Mary embark on an arduous trek to Bethlehem, where a child will light the way for the generations to come.

Meanwhile, the three Magi - Melchior (Nadim Sawalha), Balthasar (Eriq Ebouaney) and Gaspar (Stefan Kalipha) - leave Persia, heading for Judeah to witness a planetary convergence

The Nativity Story will certainly appeal to religious groups at this time of year. However, it's difficult to see the film crossing over to a mainstream audience. Hardwicke doesn't bring her usual directorial brio to bear and Rich's script abides faithfully to the religious texts, hardly developing the characters beyond what we already know. Castle-Hughes, who was nominated for an Oscar for Whale Rider, and Isaac inhabit their roles with a serenity reflected in the rest of the film.

- Sophie Abell