Modern movies rarely believe in anything beyond the bottom line. The overriding virtue of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is the film’s conviction in its own material. Judging from Gibson’s gory, blood-drenched depiction of the final hours of Jesus Christ (James Caviezel), it’s safe to say his faith is founded on the notion of sacrificial suffering. That makes for a limited – even numbing – film, but one that’s at least admirably inspired by something other than box office.
