...

Mary Magdalene's story of being given agency and legitimacy in the eyes of the Messiah has awoken repressed joy and yearning that I only knew in the pews of safe childhood churches. Mary's unselfish, unphysical love for Christ embodies a steadfast devotion and conviction that I've strived for. So much of my desire to embody womanhood lies in her grace, her burden, her legacy.

The intimate baptism scenes in this film take me back to my own Episcopal service as a child. Since I can remember remembering I have felt most at home in the water. My limbs are suspended and my mind feels free to float. In the water I feel more at peace than I do on land. I trust the water because it was here before me. For the past several years I have taken Thalassa as a matron, and through primordial beliefs, I found solace. However, Mary Magdalene took me back to those moments of primacy where the water cleansed me and I devoted my teeny tiny soul to Jesus.

As a child, you don't understand what that means. As a closeted trans child, you definitely don't. Because you begin to internalize your role as that of the man, the protector, the warrior and steadfast stoic. I never did. When I closed my eyes to pray I saw Mary, Mary Magdalene, Naamah, the pharaoh's daughter and Lot's daughters. These were my saints, my holy mothers, and yet I could only ever envision myself as close to them. Never did I feel that true nearness, especially as my vessel experienced male puberty. Now, with full breasts and hips that could birth if my womb was fertile, I feel closer to her than I ever have. And in her, I feel his presence.

Mary Magdalene, as a film, seeks to rectify historic wrongs and reinstate the Book of Mary into a place of canon. It further is fueled by the Catholic Church's official declaration of Magdalene as the Apostle of Apostles. This revelation still flies in the face of some beliefs, but for me, it was the thing that I needed to accept that there may still be a place for faith in me.

This is a special biblical film because it is not made by a special interest group or career grifter. It is a work of true art, made with conviction and belief that the life of Mary was good and just. That work such as this exists is a blessing, as the faith film industry has become overrun with insincerity and profit-driven evangelizing. This, itself, is a test. To not be defeated by the superficial, money-hungry zealots who offer platitudes in one hand and scorn for their neighbors in the other.

The word of the Messiah is not to be taken by from those who promise false salvation. It is to be spoken, true and real, by those who seek to express it without aforementioned interest groups cowing them. To truly believe in and embody his teachings, not to yell at people why they're doing it wrong. Further, true belief is belief expressed outside of safe circumstances, outside of comforting and self affirming balms. Belief is inconvenient and belief is contradictory, but it is beautiful.

Mary Magdalene captures this beauty with majestic and divine aplomb through its sprawling mise en scene and a haunting score. Of particular note are the underwater sequences, which convey an elegant and ethereal weightlessness that CG could not. Floating up the the surface, Rooney Mara conjures the vulnerable strength of the title character in an inspired turn that captures so much of the apostle's tenacity and grace.

In the picture's script, we see Mara struggle against the deification and exaltation of Jesus amid the other disciples. Only she understands his fear and vulnerability. That what he promises isn't eternal life or a glorious golden palace in the sky, but a universal love and steadfast crusade against injustice. Phoenix is great here, as he plays the role like a mystic or mad monk, not a noble ubermensch.

As a work of art, Mary Magdalene is tremendous. As an affirmation of faith, it is a vital and important reclamation of a misunderstood figure.