The Duke De Mondo On The Passion Of The Christ - Page 3

Jesus prays in unsubtitled Aramaic, I presume, and it's already quite clear that this will be a more human Christ than even in Scorsese's fundamentalist-baiting fable. I suspect, however, that this has as much to do with James Caviezel's stunningly realised performance, as anything else. Caviezel is remarkable, that's all there is to it. And while for a good portion of the film he does little more than grimace and faint, he does it in spectacular style. He is at once overstated and commanding, at once awash with grief yet profoundly hopeful. It would be Oscar material, if the Oscars had anything to do with merit.

It's also in these first few minutes that Satan appears, and The Duke felt the chills hollering for recognition. As Satan's go, Rosalinda Celentano hasn't much competition. Pacino and De Niro may be fine actors, but they were less than terrifying or, indeed, especially convincing, when donning the old Horn N Hoof ensemble. Hammer's goat headed fiend in The Devil Rides Out gets points for effort, but again, it's hard to be scared of something so easily discarded - with a burst of fireworks, no less.

Celentano, however, is another kettle of newts-eyes altogether. This is the freakiest Satan to ever appear onscreen. If you've seen the trailers, you'll know what I'm talking about, and if not, be prepared for the most subtly unnerving performance of the year. A bizarre, eyebrowless and androgynous Christopher Walken look-alike, Celentano stalks the screen, passing through unwitting spectators and hollering soldiers, staring towards the audience as her slow-motion movements pass Christ's field of vision.

Some critics have gone so far as to lambaste Gibson for utilising such manipulative theatrics. Not The Duke, though. Not one little bit. This peppering of his source material with any number of unpleasant surprises only adds to the overwhelming sensation of having this tale told to us in an entirely alien manner. Satanic stalkers and demonic children are woven through the film, driving home the notion of an evil influence at work here, if only in the minds of the protagonists.

But it does add a recurrent question to the viewer's mind, the viewer being The Duke, and the question being - Since this act will lead to the salvation of mankind and so on, why is Satan so keen on joining in with the torment, albeit in his own subtle way?

Of course, there are counter-arguments, most of which would point out that Satan in fact acts as a temptation to Christ, a reminder that he can stop all of this if he so desires. Even with this in mind, however, it's hard to see the demonic involvement in the proceedings as anything but supportive of the events.

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