Ewan McGregor Plays Jesus And Satan ‘Superbly’
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival seems to have a hit on its hands with Last Days in the Desert starring Ewan McGregor in one of his hardest roles yet.
@lastdesert premier at Sundance was incredible. Thanks for all the great support from those there. I love this movie very much.
— Ewan McGregor (@mcgregor_ewan) January 27, 2015
The movie, directed by Rodrigo Garcia, created such a buzz that, according to the Huffington Post, “wait list was full, tickets sold out, and theater packed.” And what’s more is that “it was worth it.”
Ewan McGregor plays Jesus in Sundance film http://t.co/fvxlzpY0jr
— HuffPostEnt (@HuffPostEnt) February 2, 2015
The movie stars McGregor as both Jesus and Satan and “their relationship to God,” according to ABC News.
In Last Days in the Desert, Jesus, played by McGregor, while traveling through the desert, “comes across a family living in the middle of the desert and becomes involved in their lives for a brief time.”
Garcia, the movie’s producer, said, “The desert is a big setting, but the story is super interpersonal about these relationships… In some ways it is a kitchen sink drama, even if one of the dads is God.”
So what made Garcia choose McGregor as his lead? Garcia was sure that McGregor had just the right amount of “intelligence, compassion and empathy to portray Jesus and the devil.”
And how does McGregor feel about his role in this Sundance favorite?
McGregor said, “It’s quite an extraordinary situation to be playing two roles in any film. It’s quite daunting when one of them is Jesus.”
While most Jesus movies don’t always find the right combination of showing Jesus as both man and God, Garcia “credited McGregor” for being able “to strike a pleasing balance” and gives us a Jesus who is “deeply and achingly human” while also being “directly connected to God.”
Ewan McGregor is Jesus and the Devil in the haunting ‘Last Days in the Desert.’ @bilgeebiri reviews: http://t.co/ADCQVvQqNH #Sundance
— Vulture (@vulture) January 28, 2015
Variety is praising the movie and McGregor’s performance, saying it is, “a quietly captivating and remarkably beautiful account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness before the beginning of his ministry.”
Variety goes on to promote McGregor’s dual performance, saying it was “grounded by a Christ/Satan dual performance by Ewan McGregor that plays vastly better onscreen than it sounds on paper.”
And if that wasn’t enough, Variety describes McGregor’s performance as “superbly” done and “inspired.”
Believer or nonbeliever, Ewan McGregor and his performance in Last Days in the Desert as Jesus is sure to be enjoyed by all.
[Photo Courtesy of The Collider]
