‘The Nativity Story’: A Story for Modern Teens

Director Hardwicke gives us a fresh take on the birth of the Messiah.
‘The Nativity Story’: A Story for Modern Teens
Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes), in “The Nativity Story.” New Line Cinema
Michael Clark
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 PG | 1h 41m | Drama, Biography, History | 2006

In her first two films (“Thirteen” and “Dogtown and the Z-Boys”), set designer-turned-director Catherine Hardwicke examined teen growing pains from the perspective of the bleary-eyed participants. With her mix of cut-and-slash editing and nervy frankness, Ms. Hardwicke took what could have been just another couple of racy throwaway “after-school” specials and transformed them into important works.

On the surface, the religious drama “The Nativity Story” was an unusual third project choice for Ms. Hardwicke. It, too, has a lead teen character (the Virgin Mary) and, although not troubled, she is subject to relentless doubt and ridicule.

Joseph (Oscar Isaac) and Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) at the birth of Jesus, in “The Nativity Story.” (New Line Cinema)
Joseph (Oscar Isaac) and Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) at the birth of Jesus, in “The Nativity Story.” New Line Cinema
Think about it. Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes, “Whale Rider”) informs her strict Jewish parents and betrothed Joseph (Oscar Isaac) that she is still a virgin and is carrying the son of God in her womb. Because of her calm demeanor and unwavering resolve, Mary is able to convince her family she is telling the truth, but has far less success with her family’s neighbors. Like the son she would later deliver, Mary was accused of blasphemy and became the object of merciless scorn.

Happy Medium

“The Nativity Story” flies in the face of the typical religious epic by daring to depict the birth of Jesus Christ in a manner some find highly unconventional.

Many movies have been made about the birth of Christ, and all of them are handled with either overly delicate, kid gloves or heavy-handed, overwrought, religious posturing. Not only does Ms. Hardwicke strike a happy medium between these two divergent styles, but she also manages to deliver the all-important and often overlooked political backstory.

In an effort to nip in the bud a possible future overthrow of his reign, Roman King Herod (Ciarán Hinds) orders the deaths of all Jewish newborn boys. The film opens with hordes of soldiers going door-to-door, stealing male children from their parents, and slaughtering them. Thankfully, Ms. Hardwicke handles this flash-forward segment off-screen, and with the most delicate of care, but the effect is still unnerving and deeply unsettling.

King Herod (Ciarán Hinds), in “The Nativity Story.” (New Line Cinema)
King Herod (Ciarán Hinds), in “The Nativity Story.” New Line Cinema
Without realizing it, Herod’s extreme actions cause Mary and a now very enlightened and understanding Joseph to make alternative travel plans to Jerusalem, which have them taking a longer, less comfortable road, but one which keeps them out of harm’s way.

Fantasy Missteps

While mostly grounded in reality, Ms. Hardwicke and screenwriter Mike Rich include fantasy sequences that sometimes take us out of the moment. One such scene features Mary and the angel Gabriel (Alexander Siddig), who tells her of God’s plans for her. Both the dialogue and visuals go a bit too far, and temporarily take the film in a fabricated, only-in-the-movies direction.
Gabriel (Alexander Siddig) speaks to Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes), in “The Nativity Story.” (New Line Cinema)
Gabriel (Alexander Siddig) speaks to Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes), in “The Nativity Story.” New Line Cinema

Ms. Hardwick’s subplot of the parallel journey of the Three Wise Men starts out with promise, but often drifts into a bad camel-driven road flick where the three men exchange borderline comical, satirical barbs. Giving these characters a smaller, less vocal presence might have worked better.

Despite its minor missteps, “The Nativity Story” goes where no Christmas film has gone before and, on that basis alone, deserves high marks. At a time where embarrassments like “Deck the Halls” and “Christmas with the Kranks” insult our intelligence and ignore the season’s true meaning, “The Nativity Story” comes along to give us a much-needed reality check and refresher course in why we celebrate the event in the first place.

Rotten Tomatoes

It should come as no surprise to regular viewers of Christian-based films that “The Nativity Story” received mostly negative critical reviews (37 percent) on the aggregate site rottentomatoes.com. Conversely, the audience score is 76. This is not an isolated incident.

The critical and audience scores for “The Passion of the Christ” from 2003 were 49 percent and 80 percent, respectively. For the 2016 “Risen,” the numbers were 53 and 70 percent. Just last year, four high-profile Christian movies had similar scoring discrepancies: “Sound of Freedom” (57 and 99), “After Death” (50 and 87), “The Shift” (39 and 87), and “The Oath” (30 and 86).

For the record, I rated all of the above titles at 3.5/5 or better. That either makes me a critical outlier and contrarian, or perhaps I’m more aligned with the masses than others that do the same job as me. Or, it could be that the majority of film critics simply have it out for movies of faith.

Theatrical poster for “The Nativity Story.” (New Line Cinema)
Theatrical poster for “The Nativity Story.” New Line Cinema
The film is presented in English and subtitled Hebrew and is available on home video and to stream on Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+.
‘The Nativity Story’ Director: Catherine Hardwicke Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Ciarán Hinds, Alexander Siddig MPAA Rating: PG Running Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes Release Date: Dec. 1, 2006 Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
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Michael Clark
Michael Clark
Author
Originally from the nation's capital, Michael Clark has provided film content to over 30 print and online media outlets. He co-founded the Atlanta Film Critics Circle in 2017 and is a weekly contributor to the Shannon Burke Show on FloridaManRadio.com. Since 1995, Clark has written over 5,000 movie reviews and film-related articles. He favors dark comedy, thrillers, and documentaries.
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