Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? If you’re interested in religion.
Score: 3.5/5
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 107 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“Risen” is a Biblical drama about Clavius, a Roman soldier, who’s tasked to investigate the resurrection of Jesus. He soon discovers there’s more to Jesus than meets the eye. It stars Joseph Fiennes (Clavius), Tom Felton (Lucius), Peter Firth (Pontius Pilate), Cliff Curtis (Yeshua), and Joe Manjón (Bartholomew). It is rated PG-13.
First, a disclaimer — I’m Christian, so I can certainly understand the religious perspective more clearly than if I weren’t. That being said, you see the film through Clavius’ eyes, which is a distinctively secular one, so there’s very little preaching involved. In fact, all you know of Jesus (Yeshua in the film) at the beginning is that he’s being crucified to keep the peace. What Clavius learns of the faith is through hearsay and followers, and this makes the evangelical portion of the film so much more palatable than other such religious movies.
Highlights
Handles the secular and religious perspectives well
By using a secular protagonist and religious opponents, it avoids the usual problem of automatically demarcating the faithful as the heroes. It frames the religious events as occurrences that cannot be explained (at first), rather than immediately ascribing it to divine forces. As Clavius moves from one perspective to the other, his understanding of such events goes through a gradual evolution that’s both natural and believable.
Great set design and costumes
The militaristic Romans and meek Jews are characterised by their costumes, which also fit well into the Roman Empire, the film’s setting. The costumes for the Roman legions are detailed and robust, and also see use in battle, which adds to the feeling of authenticity. The sets themselves are large and evocative, and look exactly the way we’d expect, which helps ease us into the world of “Risen.”
Joseph Fiennes is a convincing Clavius
Clavius is first presented to us as the strong, silent type, a proud warrior who only believes in what’s practical and visible. So it falls on Joseph Fiennes’ performance to show us Clavius’ inner conflict and confusion as he witnesses Yeshua’s return and other inexplicable events. It’s a magnificent portrayal of a man who has his entire belief system shaken, and has to relearn how the world works. In so doing, Clavius comes to believe in Yeshua, but it’s a painful struggle to do so.
Letdowns
Tom Felton’s amusing expressions
As Lucius (which sounds like a joke, given that he plays Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series and his father is Lucius Malfoy), Tom Felton looks like he’s going to burst into tears at any moment. His frowns look like he’s both constipated and perplexed. Tom Felton’s expressions are hilarious, and that’s really jarring for a serious, intense film.
Boring second half
After Clavius’ change in perspective, the film loses any form of conflict or struggle and stumbles towards its conclusion. It’s unnecessary to continue showing Clavius’ transformation, because we’ve already bought into his change of heart and he’s already bought into his own conversion. The secular perspective just disappears in the second half.
“Risen” appeals because of its secular approach to religion, but this quality is lacking in the later portion of the film.
“Risen” opens in cinemas 17 March, 2016 (Thursday).
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