Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: HAIL MARY [SXSW 2023 - Austin, Texas]
Using the myth of the Messiah as a basis for the second coming is a form of apocalyptic subterfuge depending on the context of a given movie. With "Hail Mary" [Narrative Spotlight/World Premiere], director Rosemary Rodriguez finds an intriguing way to make this would-be immigrant/rebirth story into something interestingly much more. Unlike the similarly themed (without the biblical context) element of "Carmen", "Mary" knows how to blend genre in a textured way which gives the different paths of the characters meaning. Maria and her reluctant knight of sorts, Jose, are on a path that neither of them can control. The real context of the film brims from the bookends that create the tension. Jack Huston has an undeniable presence from the first frame as a person of interest in pursuit of Maria. There is a wonderfully operatic sense of him while still being very still. Angela Sarafyan operates on the other side as a rival character in a different setting and the subtleties of certain moments they both play begate some of the dark undertones that permeate the scenes.
Rodriguez doesn't shy away from the grotesque elements of humankind but also doesn't make it so dark that the audience can't go there with her as a piece of entertainment without being too social overwhelming. Natalia del Riego plays Maria with a practicality and empathy while still encapsulating that path. Benny Emmanuel as Jose is good but his delivery almost is too energetic in the tone of the film. That said it does not take away either. The use of digital effects despite a limited budget (especially a river and a field sequence) is admirable as well as a prologue before the credits that really settles what the the film can do (without explaining itself too much). The eventual resolution or placement of the story is interesting and also not finite which is dynamically contextual. This is the story of the Holy Family per se in a new light and the essence of greater forces at work weave throughout the film showing that fate is inevitable but not quite in the way one might expect. B+
By Tim Wassberg
