The trailer for Mary Magdalene from Garth Davis, the director of last year’s Lion, did many things to my feels:

1. It’s a reminder that Hollywood isn’t done with Biblical epics.

2. American movies just DON’T want to get the ethnicity of Jesus and his community right! This is a problem. It is comforting, however, to see a person of color cast in the role of Simon Peter.

3. Rooney Mara (Mary Magdalene), Joaquin Phoenix (Jesus), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Simon Peter) are actors who dig deep to bring out beautiful, captivating performances time and again. I could watch Rooney Mara act all day long.

4. The story of Mary Magdalene is one our #MeToo world needs to hear.

–Joey Armstrong

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