★★☆☆☆

WE’VE seen countless on-screen depictions of the story of Jesus Christ, raising the question of what else can really be done that we haven’t seen before? Nothing much at all if this version is anything to go by.

This ponderous part-retelling from director Garth Davis (the Oscar-nominated Lion) aims to look at the tale from a female perspective, namely that of the controversial figure of Mary Magdalene.

It’s inspired by the recent discovery of ancient parchments purportedly part of the Gospel of Mary, as well as recent acknowledgement by the Catholic Church that she was the first genuine eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection following centuries of being silenced then branded a prostitute.

So why does what should be a ground-shaking cinematic telling feel so flat and rather tame? It likely comes down to the film’s general ethos of wanting to skirt round the in-built controversy, as if it’s desperately afraid to offend. Not that it needs The Passion of the Christ-level graphicness in order to create controversy for controversy’s sake but there’s exists a conspicuous lack of a pulse coursing through the film’s muted body, a strange kind of going through the motions that does nothing to make its supposedly revolutionary Biblical retelling stand out from the crowd.

What’s most disappointing is the eponymous figure herself. Despite a solid turn from the always-alluring Rooney Mara, Mary remains curiously passive and sidelined in what is supposed to be her own story. There’s a fine line between spiritual profundity and glum ponderousness that the film falls on the wrong side of, stifling her keen perspective on one of the defining events of an entire belief system.

While the script itself often fails to conjure convincing philosophical weight, Mara conveys the needed grace and stoic faith so key to the character’s eventual quest to make Jesus’ disciples – including the obstinate Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and treacherous Judas (Tahir Rahim) – believe what she saw.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Jesus with admirable commitment but which also leads to a portrayal of the saviour that’s introspective, weirdly cryptic and lacking in impact.

It certainly looks and sounds beautiful, wrapped in palpable atmosphere thanks to Greig Fraser’s elegant cinematography and the melancholic yet uplifting score by Hildur Guðnadóttir and Jóhann Jóhannsson (his last before he sadly passed away).

But that’s merely the aesthetically appealing mask to what is a dishearteningly flat and ineffectual film that doesn’t have the teeth to properly wrestle with its theological themes nor the bite to give the titular figure’s perspective any real clarity.