Mel Gibson: Judged by his Fruit

Deborah Pardo

March 1, 2004

It's difficult to assess the motivations of people -- let alone, a public figure like Mel Gibson. But sometimes what people produce reveal what's going on inside them.

Gibson spoke about some of his intentions for his recently released "The Passion of the Christ" in a pre-film opening interview on Primetime with Diane Sawyer. He said that he needed to produce this film to complete a "mission" in his life.

He also offered a telling comment about his character.

"I would get addicted to anything, anything at all," said Gibson about his past. "Doesn't matter what it is ... drugs, booze, anything. You name it -- coffee, cigarettes, anything. All right? I'm just one of these guys who is like that. That's my flaw."

Is it possible that he's now addicted to the image of a crucified Jesus, resulting in two hours and 20 minutes of torment, scourging, and crucifixion? Was this just another "Braveheart" with a a religious hero?

Marie Shukaitis, a Catholic ex-nun from New Jersey, has not yet seen the film but did catch the Sawyer interview. Shukaitis said that Gibson belongs to a small traditionalist Catholic sect that rejects the modern reforms of the Second Vatican Council. She perceives Gibson's brand of religion as more superstitious than her own approach to Catholicism. Yet, she conceded that Gibson's decision to focus only on one part of Jesus' life does not signify extremism.

"The crucifixion itself is exceedingly powerful and does warrant as being seen separately," she said.

With this in mind, I headed to the 42nd Street AMC cinema on opening day to view the last 12 hours of Jesus' life.

The theater was not filled to capacity, although the evening showtimes flashed "sold out." Some of the filmgoers bought large tubs of popcorn and drinks, not considering it odd or sacrilegious to be eating while watching the story of a man being brutally killed. The Walt Disney Garfield preview did not warn or prepare the viewer for what was to follow.

The film begins in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed before being taken away to endure his fate. A rowdy mob comes to escort him to the Jewish leadership. Gibson and the cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel, create an eerie mood using music and gloomy skies; the garden resembles a haunted forest. An ominous sexless, hooded figure, playing "the devil" enters the garden and reappears at intervals throughout the movie as an opponent of Jesus and instigator of evil. In one scene, it walks among the Jews who demand Jesus' crucifixion. Lord-of-the-Rings-style apparitions pop up now and then as part of Gibson's interpretation of demonic adversity to the crucifixion.

Still in the garden, Jesus, played by James Caviezel, stomps on the head of a snake sent to him by the "devil." This scene alludes to a Christian interpretation of Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, which depicts a snake exchanging a bruise on the heel for a crush of its head; the snake being the devil and Jesus, the messiah. This marks one of Jesus' only triumphant moments in the film, aside from 30 seconds of resurrection from the tomb at the end.

Gibson uses more horror-movie type images to intensify the suffering of Judas, a disciple and the ultimate betrayer of Jesus. Children with distorted facial features taunt Judas until he hangs himself.

An hour into the film the anticipated bloody scourging begins. It lasts about ten minutes.

Jesus' ascent to the cross fills the rest of the movie, with several brief flashbacks onto his life as a child, his adulthood as a carpenter, and his time with his disciples. These scenes offer a brief respite from the ongoing bloody torture. The only moment of humor in the film occurs when Jesus, as a carpenter, constructs a futuristic high table -- alluding to his prophetic powers. In those days people reclined when they ate. Jesus' mother jokes that the table will never catch on. This contrived scene seemed oddly out of place in a picture laden with serious subject matter.

Though the film offers little relief from the gore, the Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin languages spoken by the characters temper the brutality. The ancient Jewish words spoken by both Jesus and his Jewish opposition remind those watching that the characters are engaging in a kind of family feud. Most moviegoers will not realize that although Gibson took out the controversial line "Let his blood be on us and on our children" in the English subtitles, the Jewish leaders still say it in Aramaic.

A number of Catholics spent this Ash Wednesday at the theater. Some, such as Alfred Iznadi, 75, said the film was too violent and had deviated from the gospels. Yet he was still moved by its depiction of the pain a mother feels when losing her son.

Although Gibson sought to remain faithful to the gospel accounts, his movie relies on Catholic extra-biblical material. Jesus' mother remains nameless throughout the film. Everyone calls her "Mother," a reflection of Catholic reverence. Every other character, including Jesus, addresses one another using Hebrew names.

Does a film filled with Catholic references necessarily mean Gibson got carried away? Other Jesus films, such as that of Italian director Franco Zefirelli, also emphasized Catholic elements. But "The Passion" went beyond Zefirelli. Unusual camera angles portray Jews with crooked teeth mocking Jesus. These scenes revive anti-Semitic medieval imagery that will disturb the collective memory of the Jewish community.

Reviews of the film appeared in every publication on opening day. Kenneth L. Woodward in the New York Times thought that modern-day Christians -- and not Jews -- will be shocked by the film. He said it would upset their perceptions of a Christianity that no longer focuses on the crucifixion or suffering, but has become a "smoothly therapeutic religion [asking] what Jesus can do for me." Woodward thought it might remind Christians of the forgotten harsher basics of their religion.

"It made me cry from the time they started flogging till it was completed," said Pamela Grovner Murray, a Christian at the theater. She didn't find it offensive and maintained that modern-day sensibilities prefer to avoid extremes.

Gene Guzman, a Catholic man, stood outside the theater at the end of its showing, obviously overcome with emotion.

"I think it was one of the most powerful movies I've seen in my life," he said. He admits that Gibson took a lot of liberties with the film, but said that movies these days depict life more vividly than in past productions.

"It's one I'm not going to get over for a while," said Guzman before walking away.

David Denby of The New Yorker said that Gibson's "obsession with pain, disguised by religious feelings, has now reached a frightening apotheosis." He categorized the film as religious fanaticism.

Symptoms of religious extremism include black and white thinking, judgment of those who don't have the same beliefs, a certainty that God speaks only to you, and the manipulation of scripture to justify views, according to Leo Booth, a former Episcopalian turned Unity minister in California who has written a book on religious addiction. Booth stressed that Gibson titled his film ".The Christ" signifying the director's strict belief that no other messiah exists.

Only Gibson actually knows whether he fits into the religious obsessive camp. His on-air statements and reported interviews with journalists have been too few and too contradictory to be able to define his personality.

Most people will assess Gibson by the recent fruit of his labor. Not all audiences will arrive at the same conclusions. After seeing the film, some will consider him a religious hero, others as over the edge.

Reporter Deborah Pardo may be reached at dep2103@columbia.edu.

(Updated April 19, 2004)