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Pregnant teen actress Keisha Castle-Hughes has been given less-than-glowing reviews for her new role as the Virgin Mary - and the film has been panned after its opening in the United States.
American film critics have slated The Nativity Story, with influential magazine Variety stating: "Memories of dreary Sunday school classes come flooding back courtesy of The Nativity Story." And it said Castle-Hughes, 16 - nominated for an Oscar for her role in Whale Rider - spent nearly the entire film "furrowing her brow to express a mixture of anxiety and determination". Other reviews were also harsh.
Director Catherine Hardwicke, who was still editing when Castle-Hughes broke the news that she was three months' pregnant, told The Independent: "From the beginning I sensed a kind of soul in her, she's very deep. Her mom also just had a baby who's about two months old, so the baby will have an uncle who's only a couple of months older - just like John the Baptist was to Jesus. And Keisha's boyfriend is in construction, so he's a carpenter too. The whole thing's pretty wild. So they'll all be in the house together, with Keisha's four younger siblings. The family home has a very creative environment with easels and paintbrushes and toys.
"Keisha's baby is going to come into an atmosphere of love. Who knows what incredible person that child could turn out to be? If anything, all Judaism and Christian philosophy is against judgement of others, so I think the Christian community will be embracing and positive."
Hardwicke said she almost changed her mind about choosing Castle-Hughes to play the Virgin Mary because she was put off by her accent.
"She has a serenity and soulfulness about her but when we talked on the phone and I heard her Kiwi accent, I was horrified. But then she came to LA and we had a dialect coach with her for just one hour, working on a light Israeli accent, and when I saw her afterwards - all the Kiwi was gone. She has a great ear."
But Hardwicke, who attended a special premiere of The Nativity Story at the Vatican last month where Castle-Hughes was conspicuously absent, dismissed rumours that the Vatican frowned upon her pregnancy.
"The Vatican knew of Keisha's pregnancy from the start. And they know she's not married, that she's an actress playing Mary. Besides, I guess she got two out of three right - that she didn't use birth control and she kept the baby ... "
What the critics say
Variety - "Memories of dreary Sunday school classes come flooding back courtesy of The Nativity Story. Castle-Hughes, so effective in Whale Rider, spends nearly the entire film furrowing her brow to express a mixture of anxiety and determination."
CNN - "The Virgin Mary herself is played with earnest fortitude by the Maori actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, who seems to have surrendered most of the spontaneity and joy that made her the youngest-ever best actress nominee for Whale Rider a few years back."
USA Today - "The Nativity Story comes across more like a tedious morning in Sunday school than a compelling biblical account."
Seattle Times - "Castle-Hughes... gives an understated performance. Perhaps she's hampered by the accent work; perhaps, in adolescence, acting seems less natural than before; perhaps she's simply overwhelmed by the iconic power of the character she's playing."
Chicago Tribune - "New Zealander Castle-Hughes, the young Oscar-nominated star of Whale Rider, brings this film some of the liveliness and joy that infused that role."
Groucho Reviews - "The film has all the substance, visual appeal, and excitement of a Hallmark card."
