Sometimes incoherent movies are exciting; this one strained my attention. There were three sections: young Christ with doubts, which was odd but compelling; determined Christ up until the cross, which was traditional in story but baffling in tone; and the last temptation of Christ, which almost put me to sleep. The acting was painful throughout. What happened in the casting? I couldn't watch Keitel. Dafoe was commendable, but strange. Who would choose him? I just don't get it. Nothing felt authentic. The whole thing felt misguided, almost uncanny. What's the point of this movie? Why would anyone enjoy it? At all times it's strange, upsetting, or dull. One of the most thrilling directors of my time managed to make one of the most thrilling stories of all time alarmingly bland.
Suggestions:
Either paint an authentic portrait of Christ or go for the fresh take; this juggling doesn't work. The casting implies a fresh take, but half the movie is normal Gospels. Dafoe is not the man for normal Gospels. I'd watch a full movie of normal Gospels, with the right cast and writing, and I'd watch a full movie of Dafoe as uncanny Christ, although even then I'd ask for better writing. If I can separate the writing from the acting, it still seemed poor.
I guess it's been 10+ yrs now... But my memory is that it's impossible to get over that it's Willem Dafoe, not Jesus Christ. Fascinating that Scorsese seemed to have a completely separate Christianity than the one I grew up with.
ReplyDeleteI agree in that I couldn't see beyond Willem Dafoe to his character. I thought you loved the movie though (back then)? Maybe you didn't, maybe you just suggested it as fascinating, which it was in some ways.
DeleteI've been checking things off my old lists... Last Temptation of Christ, Breathless, books like The Stranger, Godot, Kafka,... It feels good, even though most of them are underwhelming
Hmm, I definitely didn't love it. My main memory of it is being bored. I was probably fascinated by it as a foreign object. Jesus Christ as a human being was a heretical concept. Mel Gibson's Jesus was more familiar
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