Saturday, April 22, 2017
ONEGIN
I am listening to Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin right now. Peter Mattei is a good singer, and no doubt he's a good Onegin, but it still hurts somewhat to think that Dmitri Hvorostovsky had to cancel his performance in this same role in this same production due to cancer. I wish good luck for Mattei and a swift recovery and a speeedy return to the stage for Dima.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Morgado's Misstep
Two years ago I wrote a rather scathing review of the movie Son of God, and one of negative points I listed was having and attractive actor play Jesus as though having Christ look attractive was bad thing. In retrospect this was unfairly harsh as Christ has been portrayed as beautiful for centuries.
I now recognize that this has more to do with reverence for His deity more than anything else. Even if Isaiah did prophesy that Christ would "have no beauty that we should desire Him", we still want to be reverent in how we depict Him. And portraying Him as looking rather plain just wouldn't fit. Also, Isaiah's prophesy refers more to a flash-and-bang style of charisma than physical appearance.
I guess what bothered me about Diogo Morgado's portrayal of Christ in Son of God was the fact that he looked too handsome. This wasn't the reverent beauty so often found in art, this was the Hollywood-It-Guy variety. And having Jesus look like the hottest male celebrity distracts the audience and takes away from our LORD's deity.
And the performance was too soft. There was no righteous fury evident in the Cleansing of the Temple scene, nor did Morgado seem to show any real emotion other than hippie-style tranquility, the only major exception of course being the crucifixion. Heck, he even smiled after turning the tables over, whatever happened to, "IT IS WRITTEN, 'MY HOUSE IS TO BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER', AND YOU HAVE TURNED INTO A DEN OF THIEVES!"? Yes, Jesus would have roared those words at the top of His lungs. The veins in His forehead would have been popping. He was literally flipping over tables and driving the thieving merchants off the premises! He was releasing animals out of their cages and out of the temple. He. was. furious. And to not see that present was a major misstep.
To make a long story short, irreverent Hollywood good looks and a Nice-Guy portrayal of Jesus Christ derailed the film Son of God.
I now recognize that this has more to do with reverence for His deity more than anything else. Even if Isaiah did prophesy that Christ would "have no beauty that we should desire Him", we still want to be reverent in how we depict Him. And portraying Him as looking rather plain just wouldn't fit. Also, Isaiah's prophesy refers more to a flash-and-bang style of charisma than physical appearance.
I guess what bothered me about Diogo Morgado's portrayal of Christ in Son of God was the fact that he looked too handsome. This wasn't the reverent beauty so often found in art, this was the Hollywood-It-Guy variety. And having Jesus look like the hottest male celebrity distracts the audience and takes away from our LORD's deity.
And the performance was too soft. There was no righteous fury evident in the Cleansing of the Temple scene, nor did Morgado seem to show any real emotion other than hippie-style tranquility, the only major exception of course being the crucifixion. Heck, he even smiled after turning the tables over, whatever happened to, "IT IS WRITTEN, 'MY HOUSE IS TO BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER', AND YOU HAVE TURNED INTO A DEN OF THIEVES!"? Yes, Jesus would have roared those words at the top of His lungs. The veins in His forehead would have been popping. He was literally flipping over tables and driving the thieving merchants off the premises! He was releasing animals out of their cages and out of the temple. He. was. furious. And to not see that present was a major misstep.
To make a long story short, irreverent Hollywood good looks and a Nice-Guy portrayal of Jesus Christ derailed the film Son of God.
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