Kevin Reynolds Drama Risen Puts A Twist On The Resurrection Story
Detective films have gone the way of westerns and Hollywood cautionary tales, all but absent in the 2016 lineup. However, Waterworld director Kevin Reynolds’ Risen brings back the genre with a twist. It takes the archetypal hard-boiled detective and places him in first century Palestine to investigate the disappearance of Jesus Christ’s corpse. While the pitch sounds stunning, Risen falters in its delivery.
The movie follows Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a Roman Tribunal tasked by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to find the body of Yeshua (Cliff Curtis), which has vanished from its tomb. To help Clavius, Pilate assigns him Lucius (Tom Felton), a young Roman officer, as his partner.
Risen shines in its first half, following Clavius and Lucius’ search for the missing body. The film shows viewers the seedier sides of Jerusalem not ordinarily seen in other Christian films, such as taverns, zealot outposts and mass graves. Reynolds creates a world independent of the gospels, one with its own story and people.
To further reinforce the detective theme, the editing makes the movie feel like a Law & Order episode, using quick action jumps to intensify the investigation as it progresses. The supporting cast reinforces this mood by serving as film noir stock characters in their personalities, Pontius Pilate filling in the role of the pushy police commissioner, Caiaphas (Stephen Greif) lurking as the corrupt political official and Mary Magdalene (María Botto) working as the mysterious woman/femme fatale.
Unfortunately, the second half of the film disrupts the narrative. Clavius’ investigation reaches an anticlimax, marking a shift in the film from a historical, detective thriller to a clichéd retelling of the Gospel accounts. Risen’s pacing dies at this point, the human aspect of Jerusalem giving way to the fantastical, divine side.
Despite the film’s plot shifts, the acting remains consistent for most of the movie, ranging from unremarkable to cringeworthy. Peter Firth provides the best performance, putting some emotion into his character. In comparison, Tom Felton and María Botto seem to sleep through their performances, neither one striking the viewer in any way.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cliff Curtis and the apostles commit the sin of overacting, coming across less as the founders of Christianity and more like Bodhi and his gang from Point Break. Speaking of Point Break, Joseph Fiennes takes a page from the Keanu Reeves school of acting, replacing emotional range and subtlety with an ever-present pout in his portrayal as Clavius.
The film also features similar issues found in other adaptations of the New Testament, such as the prevalence of British accents in first century Palestine, the interchangeable use of Roman and Greek Gods, and discrepancies with what is accounted in the Gospels.
While Risen provides some characterization for first century Palestine, the desert and city are drenched for most of the film in slate gray. When juxtaposed with Mad Max: Fury Road’s wasteland and Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Jakku, Jerusalem and its countryside come across as bland.
A sliver of praise can be given to Reynolds’ directing. He is a master of using light to illuminate characters, raising the humble settings to epic proportions. The film score also does a fantastic job in intensifying the scenes involving Yeshua, imparting onto the viewer a sense of awe when the character appears on screen.
Risen is flawed. Do not watch it if you are expecting a straight-up Raymond Chandler like thriller or an intense adaptation of the Gospels like The Passion of the Christ. However, if you are looking for a solid, detective movie that provides an interesting spin on the resurrection story, you will not be disappointed.
