Risen Review

Over the years, we have seen many different iterations of the account of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Crucifixion and triumphant Resurrection. No other period in history has ever been as impactful as the events of Easter Weekend, no matter whether or not one believes Christian tradition. As far as film interpretations goes though, I have never seen this great tale depicted as a crime drama. Yet that is the approach that director Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Count of Monte Cristo) and his team have chosen to take with Risen. With this fresh, intriguing outlook on the events that surrounded the Lord's Resurrection, does Risen prove to be solid entertainment for both Christians and those of other faiths as well?

In the days following the Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by Roman soldiers serving under the command of Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth), and then His body was subsequently laid in a garden tomb. On the Sunday following his death, however, His body mysteriously disappeared from the tomb. Fearing that the potential reality of such a claim would cause a political uprising in Palestine, Pilate assigned a prominent tribune Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) to investigate the case.

The general public seems to have problems with faith movies, and this even includes people who are Christians. I myself sometimes have issues with them since they sacrifice artful storytelling for the sake of spreading the good Word. While this is not a bad motivator per se, art should at least be crafted with an understanding of the basics thereof, as well as the vision of a broader audience. That being said, I feel that Kevin Reynolds’ Risen is a step in the right direction. Since Christian cinema is often too short-sighted to be accessible to a secular audience, it is nice to see a picture that is sensible enough to provide entertainment for all people regardless of their belief systems. This is seen in the way that the protagonist Clavius views the events he has been wrapped into, Jesus Christ’s Jewish roots (he is always referred to as “Yeshua,” which is a Hebrew form of the word “Savior”), and the unconventional method of establishing the plot. Even though the film’s impact was predestined to be undercut by the fact that millions are familiar with the Resurrection of Christ, it still remained interesting to see how the Romans could have potentially reacted to the dilemma expressed on screen.

Notwithstanding Risen’s successes though, its overall impact is overturned by the end. Without delving into spoiler territory, a character transformation eventually takes place that makes marginal sense, but it does not fit that well against the overall picture. Perhaps this also has to do with the fact that the tone, religious subtext and narrative direction suddenly changes when this occurs, making the last act of Risen feel jarringly different from what was shown previously. That’s not to say that this portion of the film is necessarily bad, but the transition was awkward and inconsistent nonetheless. Even so, as a whole I found this to be an interesting outlook on how faith is developed. Many individuals don’t seem to understand that faith is a matter of choice and effort, not just happenstance (I say this about people on both sides of the religion coin). Risen tackles this idea, and although the road to uncovering the truth of such a concept, this approach made for some compelling drama.

Perhaps this was rooted in the performance given by Joseph Fiennes, who is interesting to watch even in his stoicism. The restraint in his work here shows that his character is a conflicted man, one who tries to distance himself from all of the events that are surrounding him by suppressing what he feels. This seems to be what most people do when confronting huge issues, and for that reason his simplistic performance is fascinating to me since it’s the core of this film’s faith theme. As for the team players, they unfortunately don’t measure up quite as well as Fiennes. Peter Firth is passable as Pilate, and Tom Felton is decent in his attempt to move past his Draco Malfoy persona here.

However, what I did appreciate about the cast--and the film at large, as I had mentioned earlier--is that for some of the other roles, the casting department was sensitive to culture. Even though the actors aren’t necessarily Arabs, those who were a part of Risen's cast actually looked like they belonged in it. Such was especially the case for Jesus, who clearly looked like a Jewish figurehead (even though the actor, Cliff Curtis, is a Maori). And then to extend my praise to the picture’s production values, it felt nice to finally watch a film that actually seemed rooted in the story’s location. So many films are shot on green screen soundstages these days that witnessing something genuinely authentic is exciting to me. That’s one key reason why I responded so strongly to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to name a recent example, and for that matter I found it easy to fall into this film’s scripture-based world.

Despite my positive vibe, I am still not completely sold on what this movie offers. I love my religion to death, but even I cannot deny that the faith-centered tonal shift in the third act of this film was very jarring. Such ultimately deflated what I thought was a compelling cop procedural set in ancient times. Still, there is worth in sharing this movie with friends of other faiths, because there its consierably accessibile with its mostly nonpartisan agenda. I wouldn’t expect anyone to convert from this though, for The Bible and The Book of Mormon will always have the power to do that over even the strongest of Christian cinema.

6.0/10

RED FLAG FOR PARENTS (minor spoilers): I will not mention much here, for this film is safe for families to watch for the most part. There is no profanity whatsoever, and the only “sexual content” is a scene in which a couple of men have a conversation while bathing. Violent imagery is what led to Risen receiving a PG-13 rating. Part of the film’s opening sequence is a short battle scene which feels real and gritty, although not much blood is shown. The scene is over quick enough for there to not be much death on display. Christ and the two other men crucified with Him are shown on their respective crosses, and those who are still alive have their legs broken. A pile of rotting corpses is also depicted multiple times.

Notes
1. The poster for Risen was borrowed from its Wikipedia page.
2. All other screenshots from the film were taken from the Rotten Tomatoes page for Risen.