Exclusive to Life4seekers, Bess Twiston Davies's film review...

Just in time for Christmas, comes the film The Nativity Story, director Catherine Hardwicke’s lean character-driven account of  the events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ.

The scriptwriter Mike Rich is a committed Christian who consulted Catholic theologians and read the massive Nativity tome The Birth of the Messiah, by top US Catholic biblical scholar Raymond E Brown.

So expect a plot that sticks closely to the bible, beginning with the prophetic verses of Jeremiah used in the First Sunday of Advent. The surprises come through deft speculative touches that flesh out Matthew and Luke’s spare Nativity narratives. Watch out, for instance, the stoning dream mixed in with Joseph’s vision, or the hostile expressions of the Nazarenes as Joseph and Mary leave the village for Bethlehem.

Joseph is given an engaging portrayal by Oscar Isaac, who conveys Joseph’s humanity skilfully through a magnificent blend of expression, gesture and spare dialogue. Mary (16 year old Keisha Castle-Hughes) looks the right age for Mary of the Gospels, while her cousin Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is transcendent with joy. The Magnificat was a last minute addition, thanks to heartfelt lobbying from a nun consultant who pointed out its importance to Catholics. A shame Hardwicke did not ask her advice on the Nativity scene itself. Contrary to Catholic theology, Mary is shown in the pangs of childbirth, although the Church has traditionally taught that, due to her Immaculate Conception, Mary was free the agony of childbirth imposed on the descendents of Eve. Minor quibbles apart, the Nativity Story is worth seeing and could prove a fruitful spiritual resource in the run-up to Christmas.