Believe it or not, there's a mini-Renaissance going on with religious-themed films.
This year's already seen Risen, a retelling of the story of Easter, God's Not Dead 2 in the US and Miracles From Heaven with Jennifer Garner. You also had the blockbuster Noah with Russell Crowe and going further back, you have Mel Gibson's Passion Of The Christ and even further back, you have Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ.
Jaoquin Phoenix may seem like an odd choice to play Jesus Christ, especially considering that he's confessed to some agnostic and even atheistic beliefs in previous interviews. However, director Garth Davis, who did the excellent TV miniseries Top Of The Lake, has sought the actor for the role.
If he takes it on, Phoenix will be starring alongside Rooney Mara, who'll play Mary Magadelene. Mara and Phoenix both starred in the beautiful romantic drama Her in 2013. Not only that, Phoenix starred in the definitely-not-about-Scientology drama The Master, alongside the sadly gone Philip Seymour Hoffman.
So, thoughts? When he wants to, Jaoquin Phoenix can put in some pretty memorable performances. Last year's Inherent Vice was pretty great and the aforementioned Her was just incredible. You've also got Gladiator, Walk The Line and the criminally underrated Buffalo Soldiers, all of which show he's more than capable of changing it up with each and every film.
How the whole story is handled, of course, is another story. Will it just be another religious lesson or will there actually be a critical, factually-based story? Who knows.
Via Deadline
