The Young Messiah

Starring Adam Greaves-Neal, Sean Bean
Run time: 111 minutes
In theaters: March 11
Rated: PG-13

There have been many attempts to tell Jesus’ story on film, but here’s a unique approach: telling Christ’s story at the age of seven when his parents decide to leave Egypt and return to Nazareth.

The Young Messiah is based on Anne Rice’s best-selling 2005 novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. It begins with the boy Jesus (Greaves-Neal) being picked on by older boys in Egypt where he has spent almost his entire life. Satan appears and the trouble begins. Shortly thereafter, Joseph (Vincent Walsh) has a dream summoning the family back to Nazareth.

The young Jesus is pursued by Satan (Rory Keenan) and Roman centurion Severus (a character not in the book and played by Sean Bean from Game of Thrones, GoldenEye, Lord of the Rings) throughout the film at the behest of the young King Herod.

While the film’s stellar cast deliver brilliant performances, some viewers may be disconcerted by the young Jesus “learning who He was.” Church teaching doesn’t address this aspect of Christ’s humanity directly. Jesus was fully human and fully divine, so it’s safe to assume some learning took place. That said, this is without question the best thing Rice has ever written.

PATRICK NOVECOSKY is Legatus magazine’s editor-in-chief.

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