Neither Rooney Mara (as Mary) nor Joaquin Phoenix (as Jesus) are especially compelling.

| Mar 25, 2020

It is so slow and so boring.

| Sep 27, 2019

This is a noble effort, but ultimately Mary Magdalene isn't much less of a mystery than she was at the start of the journey.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 3, 2019

Mary Magdalene presents a feminist defense of Mary and more shading to Jesus's other apostles, but its particular method of world-building does little in terms of impact.

| May 1, 2019

It's a well-meaning, good-looking effort - but those elements don't necessarily make for good watching. One needs to be in the mood for this sort of thing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 19, 2019

There's exactly one image in the film that reflects a modicum of directorial imagination...

| Apr 18, 2019

Ironically, in its enthusiasm for its exceptional heroine, the film actually undermines Jesus' challenge to the patriarchal norms of his day.

| Original Score: D+ | Apr 17, 2019

Mary Magdalene is in many ways an act of love, an effort to tell its story both freshly and honestly, with fidelity to Scripture.

| Apr 12, 2019

[A]n imperfect but affecting vision of New Testament times.

| Apr 12, 2019

Mary Magdalene moved me in a way that no previous film about Christianity ever has.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 12, 2019

Johann Johannsson's comically overbearing score is just interesting enough to justify the entire project, but Mary Magdalene is ultimately an unnecessary cinematic resurrection.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 11, 2019

If the son of God dedicated his life to building a kingdom of peace and justice for the poor and oppressed, could it be that he was a thumping bore while doing it?

| Original Score: 1/4 | Apr 11, 2019

"Mary Magdalene" dutifully telegraphs the nobility and compassion of its title character while remaining noncommittal about everything else in its path.

| Apr 11, 2019

t I appreciate the aim of Mary Magdalene, and the ways it reimagines a familiar story with modern implications, even when it falls flat.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 11, 2019

The film boldly retells this familiar tale from a female perspective, but offers no insight into Mary apart from a superficial "You goeth, girl!"

| Original Score: C | Apr 9, 2019

As the plot mechanically moves through Jesus's greatest hits, the narrative focuses less and less on Mary Magdalene until her life feels completely beside the point.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Apr 9, 2019

The far-reaching message of love and compassion even under the worst circumstances never grows old. Even with a fresh retelling that reflects the times and humankind's current condition.

| Apr 5, 2019

It's a cheerless, ideologically driven movie.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 21, 2018

Without scaring any horses, Davis ... gets the familiar tale across with lucidity and some grace

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 21, 2018

It goes straight for the forehead: it is a brow-furrower and a temple-rubber, best mulled over at a remove.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 18, 2018