‘Mary 2024’ Review: Should It Be Your Next Holiday Watch?

In “Mary 2024,” we begin with the birth of Mary and then embark on a journey to the birth of Jesus. The film is told entirely from the perspective of the title character himself, which I’d never heard of before, but I can’t say I’ve seen that many nativity movies, so take what I say with a pinch of salt. This reimagined period drama is certainly more action-packed than you’d expect, highlighting the difficulties of having to give birth as a “virgin,” Mary. It’s essentially an epic coming-of-age story, much like other “chosen one” stories. Let’s just remind you that Mary was chosen before Jesus was chosen. Mary humanizes its heroine in a very “feminist” way. So I’d like to explain what I mean by that. Stream this film on FlixerHD.

I know that Mary was an ordinary person who got pregnant unintentionally, and so she was later called “Virgin Mary” according to the story I heard, but that’s all I know. The story of this film forces us to see her in a new light, as an ordinary girl, that we have never seen before. But at one point, I thought to myself: Is this a “female bossification” of Mother Mary? The irony is that Mary is portrayed as the purest form of a human being – a caring, loving, and heartbroken mother from the beginning, but she had to question her own autonomy in order for us to realize that she is also human. Of course, this is just my perspective, but as I understand it, that’s exactly what the movie is trying to do: portray Mary as a normal girl who is especially close to her father, loves to play, has a good personality, and a heart of gold. But does it really work as intended? I’m not entirely sure.

This nearly two-hour movie is funny at times, especially when Anthony Hopkins’ King Herod is on screen. What stands out in a very dry movie is his spiteful and vile hatred towards the unborn child. I think the film fails because, as I said above, it starts with a story from the protagonist’s own perspective, but quickly switches to a haphazard story that doesn’t necessarily offer us anything nuanced. Intended: A new perspective. When a film starts with a voiceover promising an epic love story, we imagine that promise will come true, but it’s like shooting ourselves in the foot. Justice for this beginning.