By Steven Billings

I can say with almost absolute certainty that religion is not my thing. I had my experiences with being a southern baptist in my early adolescence. Long story short, while I met some nice people during that time, I think that my experience with religion was ultimately a negative one that led to long-lasting anxiety and fear. That being said, I do think there are valuable lessons to be learned through some of the stories in the bible. This particular story being portrayed in The Carpenter’s Son is however not a parable pulled from the traditional text but is from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas which is considered by many to be apocryphal because of uncertainty of when and who it was written by. It explores Jesus Christ’s life from ages five to twelve. He’s being raised by his mother, Mary, and his adopted father Joseph as they travel through Egypt. The gospel details the challenges they encounter while parenting and protecting the son of God. 

And in The Carpenter’s Son, we essentially get just that. I will say that when I first heard Nicolas Cage was going to be starring in this project, I thought for sure he’d be playing Jesus. But of course, once more details came out and we got our first trailer, we now know he’s actually portraying Joseph or “The Carpenter” as the title suggests. Playing Jesus, aka “The Boy” is Noah Jupe, who is quickly putting together a very interesting filmography. Jupe, being twenty years of age, does age up his character from the source material. I liked this change, but I don’t think the film fully takes advantage of it. Composer/actress FKA twigs plays Mary or “The Mother” the composed and supportive guardian of Jesus. And rounding out the main players is Isla Johnston as “The Stranger” and Souheila Yacoub as Lilith. Both play crucial roles in the development of the young messiah. Through the grapevine, it seems Nic Cage personally sought out a role of this kind in an attempt to prove to filmmaker Robert Eggers that he could play in the same sandbox as him. Cage has expressed great interest in wanting to collaborate on a film, but Eggers thinks Cage’s persona plays too modern, which clashes with historically accurate style. 

While I am undoubtedly somewhat biased because I’m a hardcore Cage fan, I do think Cage puts in a pretty nuanced performance here. Though the writing doesn’t always support the emotional journey that The Carpenter is on, Cage finds a way to keep us invested in this man who is struggling to hold on to his faith while continuing to abide by its rules. He’s also grappling with the duality of his responsibilities versus his compassion for The Boy. He longs to hear from his God again. I’m hoping for reassurance that he’s still on the right path. Other than a couple of moments, I think Cage successfully pulls back on the “Cagisms” to properly blend into this film. And though not given much to do, I did find FKA twigs The Mother performance to be quietly understated at times. However, when the most emotion you show in your performance is during the childbirth scene at the very beginning of the film, I’d think about approaching some of those other scenes from a different angle. Noah Jupe has a similar issue with his character of The Boy. In the moments he does get, I do think he does a solid job of presenting us with a wider range of emotions. There is an innocent curiosity that has to be balanced with this bubbling anger. He’s been living this sheltered, rigid lifestyle, and with the emergence of these incredible new gifts, it cultivates an eagerness to revolt. I guess even teenage Jesus would rebel, too. But that rebellious nature only goes so far, leaving not a lot of room for Noah to work. His performance feels incomplete. The Carpenter and The Boys relationship are the anchor of this story, but not enough time is given to them to create a proper dynamic. A dynamic that would have helped support the ending of this film as well. 

I’ve commented on the writing of this movie but have not yet discussed the writer/director himself, Lotfy Nathan. As an Egyptian Christian I’d love to hear more of his perspective on this material. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas being made into a film caused so much controversy that Egyptian authorities didn’t allow the production to take place there. Instead, they had to move the production to Greece. Though I do have my problems with the script, I did find Lotfy’s pacing and atmosphere to be quite engrossing at times. Cinematographer Simon Beaufils, who most recently was the director of photography on the Oscar winning film Anatomy of a Fall, creates a moody yet naturalistic texture to the visuals that I thought really worked well. 

The Carpenter’s Son is at its core a  straightforward coming of age story. What it lacks on the writing side is that it makes up slightly with a confident vision and performances that elevate the material. Unfortunately, deciding to scratch only the surface of its characters makes it difficult to give this film much merit. Funny enough, this film made me think of the long runny tv series Smallville. Superman goes on a very obvious Christ-like journey. Along the way, he makes good and bad choices. The big difference is that his Joseph (Johnathan Kent) is a way more layered character, and his relationship with his superpowered son is way more interesting. I guess religion had a negative effect on Joseph as well. He was so obsessed with what he thought was his mission from God. He never stopped to think for himself. 

2 1/2 stars