The lead star of Netflix's Mary supports the film's changes to this well-known Bible story.
Actress Noa Cohen plays the iconic Biblical figure in the action-packed Mary which follows Mary of Nazareth from her birth to the birth of Christ. But since the film's December 6 debut, audiences have been questioning Mary's Biblical accuracy and its creative choices.
Noa Cohen Talks Changes to Mary's Bible Story
As for what Noa Cohen wanted to bring to Mary that was different, the Mary star told Mama's Geeky, "It's giving her her voice back" as "She's not just a vessel for something greater:"
"Well, I think that a lot of people think they know her story, but I feel like in this movie for the first time, that I've seen at least, Mary's being portrayed in a whole new light in my opinion. It's giving her her voice back. She's not just a vessel for something greater than herself. It's her story. It's being told from her perspective. It's her emotions and her fears that drive the narrative, and that just felt really really interesting to me. This is why I really wanted to take this role. This is why I really wanted to do it."
Directed by DJ Caruso, Netflix's Mary begins before her Biblical introduction and the story of the Nativity.
In this take on the historic tale, the archangel Gabriel promises Mary's parents they will have a child and she will be a vessel of a promise that will change the world.
As a child, her parents dedicate her to the temple where she lives and serves until she's betrothed to Joseph (check out the full cast of Netflix's Mary here), is visited by the archangel of Gabriel, and delivers Jesus in Bethlehem, all while pursued by King Herod (Anthony Hopkins) and Satan himself.
Cohen further elaborated on what she wanted to achieve with the role of Mother Mary to AM FM Magazine, saying, "the main work was figuring out who she was as a person:"
"When I first learned I got the role, it was a bit overwhelming, I'm not going to lie. Obviously, I felt incredibly humbled but also it is a tremendous responsibility. Mary holds such a central place in the hearts of millions of people, and I wanted to portray her in a way that is very respectable. But to me, the main focus and the main work was figuring out who she was as a person."
As the Mary star continued, she expressed she wanted "to find that balance" between Mary's divine role "and her humanity:"
"As DJ (Caruso) said before, we really wanted to make sure that the audience will be able to connect with her on a deeply human level. So, just getting to work with DJ, together finding out who she was, that was my main work because we knew the key to bringing her to life on screen, and the way we want to portray her, is to find that balance between her divine role and her humanity."
As for Mary director DJ Caruso, he told Mama's Geeky that he sees the Virgin Mary as "sort of a superhero without powers," and he wanted to show young audiences "a character they can really relate to:"
"For me, Mary's sort of a superhero without superpowers, right? I wanted to portray her in a way you understand this is a courageous, brave, young woman that, in this point of her life, had to make some incredibly big decisions and had a lot forces that were against her. So, for me, it was just to show a younger, particularly a younger audience but it's for everybody, a character that they can really relate to. And, that she's not just this iconic painting or this person that we all revere, but she's actually was a human and she had to make those decisions and she had fears and apprehensions like everyone else."
As for whether he was apprehensive about undertaking the story of Mary, Caruso acknowledged to AM FM Magazine, that "it is sacred" but he felt "cinematically Mary hadn't really been appreciated:"
"Yeah, it is sacred. But always, again, for me, the reason to make this movie, and to kind of jump into this, was to really immerse the audience. I felt cinematically Mary hadn't really been appreciated in a way and been the primary focus of just her story and nothing else about it, and that includes the birth of Christ. But, to immerse the audience in this world would be one of the first times cinematically that people can experience it and see that it wasn't all Christmas cards, right?"
Caruso further noted the "things she had to overcome," and while Scripture is sacred and foundational to the film, his Mary allows audiences to experience her "in a different way:"
"There was a lot of things that she had to fight and a lot of things she had to overcome. And, what is it like when a marriage is arranged and you don't know who this person is and you have to get to know this person and ultimately the love that they feel for each other by the end of this journey? So to me, it was a brand new way to look at a story that we all know and that, to me, was important. And, yes, we love the Scripture, and it's sacred, and it's the foundation of our story, but it's a new way to look at the movie and to experience Mary in a different way."
Is Netflix's Mary More Human and Relatable?
Where Mary achieves its goal of making the Virgin Mary accessible is through Noa Cohen's performance. The 22-year-old actress doesn't portray Mary as aloof or emotionless but rather magnetic and full of life and purpose.
But where the film stumbles in its mission is through its storytelling as Mary's creative additions and Biblical omissions actually make the character of Mary less relatable and human.
Due to the fictional circumstances of her birth and throughout the movie, Mary is always portrayed as somewhat supernatural herself. She's not an ordinary person with normal challenges or even a normal life. She's special from the start and doesn't have much of an active role in what happens to her.
An example of this, and one of the most glaring Biblical inaccuracies from the film, occurs when Gabriel visits Mary to tell her she will give birth to a son, the Son of God. Biblically, Mary responds to Gabriel and this seemingly impossible situation with inspiring faith and courage, saying, "Be it unto me."
While it's true that she had found favor with God, making her special, it's her response and willingness that makes her a Biblical heroine.
But in the film, Mary never responds this way to Gabriel. Instead, he leaves the scene entirely before she answers, saying only to herself, "Let it be me."
Ironically, more authenticity would've accomplished the film's aim of a relatable on-screen Mary, especially if filmmakers had explored her ordinary childhood in the small, poor town of Nazareth, as well as the judgment and social backlash she would've likely received, and the fears she would have about her future as a young Jewish woman amidst extraordinary circumstances. That would've been enough drama without the need for additional and fictional action sequences.
So while Mary succeeds in allowing audiences "to experience Mary in a different way," it falls short of truly telling her story and offering a relatable take on this Biblical icon.
Mary is streaming now on Netflix.
