Siddig and "Nativity"
Catherine Hardwicke's The Nativity Story (New Line, 12.1) has screened this week and will junket this weekend, and I've been told "it's a very nicely made Christmas movie...it's one of those films that The Passion has begotten and is clearly aimed at the audience that loved that film. It definitely delivers a traditional spiritual capturing of Christmas, which is something Hollywood rarely does."
Alexander Siddig
He's saying, in other words, that it's sweeter (his first term was "more sugar coated') than, say, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. "It's very well made but it's definitely not dark or plain...it's more traditional," he says. Meaning it's fairly literal-minded in terms of the Biblical iconography. The film stops short of what director William Wyler did in his depiction of the Nativity scene in Ben-Hur, which was to have a moving star literally travel across the heavens and then stop and beam a kind of spotlight down upon the manger, "but it has a lot of shots ot the heavens with Bibilical connotations."
He says Hardwicke even plays one of the familiar Christmas hymns -- he couldn't remember if it was "O Little Town of Bethlehem" or one of the others -- on the soundtrack as Mary and Joseph (Keisha Castle Hughes, Oscar Isaac) make their way to Egypt.
I was intrigued to learn that Alexander Siddig, the North African-born, English- educated actor who was very fine in Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven, plays the angel Gabriel in Hardwicke's film. A friend who's seen The Nativity Story thought he might be playing God since he isn't identified as Gabriel -- he doesn't introduce himself and he's not carrying a brass horn of any kind -- but the IMDB says he's playing Gabriel so let's go with that.
Floating and (naturally) ethereal, a bearded Siddig appears before Mary and Joseph toward the end to explain the basic divinity-of-Jesus plan, the virgin conception, what's literally to come. This news is profoundly comforting to Joseph, who's been clueless and confused up to this point.
Mike Rich's screenplay for the film was originally called Nativity -- obviously a simpler, cleaner title. I wonder what genius-brain producer or New Line exec suggested adding the "The" and "Story", and what his/her reasoning might have been?
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 10, 2006 at 1:54 PM
comment #1
T-maker
says ...
Siddig is enough to bring me to the table. He's a really tremendous actor.
Posted by T-maker
at November 10, 2006 2:59 PM
comment #2
OddDuck
says ...
I agree about Siddig. He was very compelling in Syriana. Hard to believe he spent so many years in that cheesy Star Trek tv series.
Posted by OddDuck
at November 10, 2006 3:11 PM
comment #3
jeffmcm
says ...
He was one of several strong actors in what was probably the best-acted Star Trek series (Deep Space Nine) so don't go casting aspersions.
But re: The Nativity Story...from the trailers, it certainly doesn't _look_ 'very well-made'. It looks like a Hallmark Channel production.
Posted by jeffmcm
at November 10, 2006 3:24 PM
comment #4
RoyBatty
says ...
"This news is profoundly comforting to Joseph, who's been clueless and confused up to this point."
Can help to think of Sam Kinison's routine about Joseph and the Virgin Birth anytime his name comes up: "I tell you what, he better be the ONLY Son of God!"
Meanwhile, now that the rest of the critical world has chimed in about A GOOD YEAR and given it quite a drubbing, notice that all you hear from Wells about this film he championed for weeks is... .
Posted by RoyBatty
at November 10, 2006 3:48 PM
comment #5
RoyBatty
says ...
...(Cue CRICKETS)
[this somehow got deleted from my last post because of the use of arrow symbols)
Posted by RoyBatty
at November 10, 2006 3:52 PM
comment #6
Monument
says ...
When he hates a movie that all the critics are in love with, everyone gives him shit. When he enjoys a movie that critics hate, people give him shit. It must be frustrating as hell for ol' Jeff sometimes.
Posted by Monument
at November 10, 2006 4:14 PM
comment #7
Mgmax, le Corbeau
says ...
Saw the trailer for this today, and was more favorably impressed than I had been up to now. (Not surprising Siddiq's in it, everyone seems very Arabic.) Still, having a hard time thinking I need to spend $10 for a nice illustrated version of a familiar story...
I wonder, is it simply one of those things where somebody else had "Nativity" registered as a title and they had to call it "Bram Stoker's Nativity" instead?
Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau
at November 10, 2006 4:56 PM
comment #8
The Winchester
says ...
i'm waiting for M. Night Shyamalan's Nativity
Posted by The Winchester
at November 11, 2006 2:59 AM
comment #9
dixiedugan
says ...
If he was still with us, I'd go for a Russ Myers Nativity.
Shallow I am, with Siddig in the film I'll probably be there.
Posted by dixiedugan
at November 11, 2006 1:04 PM
comment #10
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Posted by outsider
at November 24, 2006 11:17 AM
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