More than one resurrection sits at the centre of Risen. The man revered by those of the Christian faith is crucified, only to come to life again — and the religious epic endeavours to make a comeback, long after its cinematic heyday. Just as Jesus’ return defied expectation, Risen‘s ascent to the screen isn’t without its own twist. The film attempts to evoke the spectacle, spirit and sensibility of Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments and Spartacus, yet remains intimate and introspective. And, rather than focus on the tale already unravelled in the likes of The Gospel According to St. Matthew, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ, it delves into the aftermath.
Indeed, the person referred to as Yeshua (Cliff Curtis, TV’s Fear the Walking Dead) is a narrative springboard rather than a protagonist, with a Roman soldier, Clavius (Joseph Fiennes, Strangerland), the feature’s real guide. Initially suspicious of the Hebrew prisoner, he oversees the supposed saviour’s death, and is then charged with guarding the cave where his remains are stored. When the body vanishes and reports surface of the purported Messiah’s reappearance, Clavius and his protégé Lucius (Tom Felton, Belle) are tasked by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth, Spooks: The Greater Good) with investigating and discrediting the rumours.
Perspective is crucial, in a feature that hews most closely to 1953 biblical effort The Robe in viewing a revered figure and experiencing an oft-told event through the eyes of an outsider. In fact, Clavius’ initial dismissal of Yeshua proves more significant than the minutiae of the latter’s return, establishing an offering less concerned with what happened, and more determined to emphasise the theological awakening of its hero. Tackling religious stories without pandering to the devoted or downplaying their beliefs is a difficult feat, though it should come as no surprise that Risen falls into the former category. It’s not just the details that are a foregone conclusion here, but the desired outcome; when a movie charts a sceptic’s reversal of opinion, there’s little doubt that it is pushing for the same result amongst the audience.
Try as they might to supplement the scriptural agenda with a procedural quest — chronicling the many searches and interrogations undertaken during Clavius’ manhunt, including with Mary Magdalene (María Botto, Three Many Weddings) and a merry bunch of disciples — writer/director Kevin Reynolds (Tristan + Isolde) and his first-timer co-scribe Paul Aiello can’t breathe energy or objectivity into the proceedings. Scenes of conflict and brutality may harken back to the similarly themed fare of decades ago, but swiftly give way to the pondering tone, pious content and predictable imagery that swallows the feature’s entire second half.
The movie’s cast also struggles as a seeming detective story segues into an account of spiritual conversion, particularly Fiennes as the film’s constant focal point. The more he tries to sell a tale of transformation through the same sombre yet sincere expression that stays plastered across his face, the less convincing his performance becomes. His co-stars often feel torn from the more comic and violent incarnations of religious stories, adding unintended variety to the feature’s roster of portrayals, but never threatening to disrupt the pervading mood of evangelical seriousness. Accordingly, when it comes to a close more by virtue of petering out than by finding a suitable end point, Risen has resurrected not only big-screen exclamations of faith, but tests of patience.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Risen
Director: Kevin Reynolds
USA, 2016 107 mins
Release date: February 18
Distributor: Sony
Rated: M
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