The Chosen One (2023) Review: If Stranger Things Meets the Apocryphal Gospels
Cast: Bobby Luhnow, Dianna Agron, Lilith Amelie Siorda Mejia, Tenoch Huerta
Created By: Everardo Gout, Leopoldo Gout
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
The Chosen One (2023) is an amazing series that landed on Netflix. It is surprising because it is a product that went on the sly even though it is based on the famous graphic novel American Jesus, signed by Mark Millar and Peter Gross in 2004. The Netflix series only adapts the first of the three volumes, concluding with a cliffhanger that demonstrates the platform’s willingness to propose a second season that we sincerely hope will be realized. The series takes up many very different products to give life to a fantasy-Christian story with atmospheres that recall Stranger Things and many of the most peculiar coming of age. Because although the story is based on Christian narration, The Chosen One is a coming-of-age story in all respects that conquers from the first episode. In August 2017, Netflix announced that it had acquired the comic house Millarworld, created by the brilliant Mark Millar.
A surprise move that led to the breakup of the initial partnership with Marvel (an alliance from which the series dedicated to Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Punisher had seen the light) as well as the diversification of the Netflix brand, which in addition to remaining synonymous with streaming and telefilm also began to camp on the independent comics signed by Millar. An undoubtedly winning move in the paper landscape, where the excellent The Magic Order has inaugurated a new, colorful editorial line, but much less on the cinematographic and serial level, where the only live-action adaptation of a Millarworld comic for Netflix remains today the tremendous Jupiter’s Legacy of 2021. Two years after that first disastrous flop, this time Netflix tries again with the cult cycle American Jesus, dedicated to the adventures of a contemporary teenager who discovers he is the new Messiah. In agreement with Millar himself – who praised this choice – however, the story moves from the USA to Mexico, enriching its atmospheres with Catholic mysticism and the pagan syncretism of the Mesoamerican world.
The Chosen One (2023) Review: The Story Plot
Sarah, a young American woman on the run from justice and mercilessly hunted by some mysterious attackers, crosses the border in the middle of the night and arrives in the anonymous Mexican town of Baja California Sur with her newborn Jodie. Twelve years later, Jodie has made friends with some boys of the village – Tuka, Hipólito, and Wagner – and shares with them the emotions and small dilemmas of adolescence, between the constant threats of some bullies and the inability to confess to the beautiful Magda I strong feelings he has for her. Introverted, shy, and taciturn, however, the boy also has to live with voices, dreams, and visions that urge him to fulfill his destiny.
One day, at the end of a long and rambling journey in the desert with her friends, Jodie is involved in a fatal accident, from which, however, miraculously comes out unharmed. After that episode, his friends will try to take advantage of his notoriety to raise some money from their peers and will convince him to perform in a cycle of public appearances in which Jodie will try her hand at some fake miracles, enjoying success and notoriety ever greater. The emergence of genuine supernatural powers, however, will change everything and will bring Jodie and his mother back into the eye of the storm, between the growing adoration of the community and the reawakening of an old threat. What if the young American-born boy was Jesus Christ revived?
The union between fantasy, coming of age, and superhero stories is present right from the start and develop taking clear inspiration from biblical stories. Nothing is simple about The Chosen One and nothing makes us believe it even for a moment. Not surprisingly, the series begins with a flashback that shows us the escape of Jodie and his mother Sarah when the boy was nothing more than a newborn. The sense of danger accompanies them to Mexico, where Sarah seeks shelter for herself and her son. The actual story begins when Jodie is about to turn thirteen and with her friends goes into the desert to look for a mermaid. There is no trace of the mythological creature, but during the return, Jodie is involved in a car accident: a truck driver loses control of the vehicle and falls from the bridge he was traveling on, ending up straight in a helpless Jodie. Only Jodie is not a boy like all the others and comes out unscathed, becoming famous in Santa Rosalía as the miracle boy.
The Chosen One (2023) Review and Analysis
The series questions what would happen if, in modern times, there were a second advent, how people would react, and how the new Messiah would behave. The Chosen One is to be categorized more as a fantasy series, but the bases of him are purely biblical enough to resume and bring to mind multiple Christian events to evolve the character of Jodie. We know him as one boy among many, very sweet and attached to his affections with a simple but perfect life. The classic life of a 12-year-old described by Stephen King is clear, is a boy who lives for his friends, who adores his mother, and who is starting to understand his feelings for Magda. It’s interesting to see how Jodie changes, how she reacts to everything that’s happening to her, and how she responds to being the protagonist of the Advent.
The construction of her character, therefore, does not only touch on religion but relies heavily on heroic stories where the protagonist discovers he has powers and does not know how to use them. The most interesting trait on which the screenwriters focus is a theme that presents itself as a cross to the narrative and then becomes central: what power does to a person, and how it transforms and shapes it. All of this is packaged in a visual department that is almost unbelievable. The Chosen One is a Netflix production that looks like a busy indie series due to its de-saturated colors that recall a hot desert environment, black and white flashbacks, and a beautiful 4:3 format that accompanies the whole story. The direction is accurate, and the photography is valuable, a combination that is not easily found.
Also enriching the series are the performances of the actors, most of whom are very young. Bobby Luhnow is a classic Jesus of Western imagery, with blond hair, angelic blue eyes, and freckles that make him even more childlike and who manages to embody all aspects of his character, a chameleonic actor who proves to be a perfect protagonist. Honorable mention for Sarah’s interpreter, Dianna Agron known mainly for Glee who here demonstrates all of her maturity, and for Lilith Amelie Siordia Mejia who takes on the role of a young Maddalena.
Let’s go back to the adjective with which we began this review by stating that The Chosen One is an amazing series that deserves much more success. The series is a great blend of different points of reference, and it takes time to tell the story from all its aspects. The slowness of the narrative, in this case, is intentional and allows us to fully understand any facet of the story: from the historical context (1999 and 2000, pivotal years of multiple premonitions and religious theories) to the characterization of the characters before and after the accident and the more conspiratorial sides on which the series lingers, but not too much with the hope of renewal for a second season.
After a first half full of events, but which focus more on Jodie’s coming of age story and on the Christian inspiration of the story, the last two installments are pure fantasy and answer some of the questions that had been asked, some of which are easy to be solved if you follow the series carefully. However, this does not spoil a valuable story in every aspect, one of the series that rightfully falls among the most beautiful of the summer season. The Chosen One stands out in the vast Netflix serial catalog for the adoption of some very unconventional directorial choices, among which the unusual 4:3 format, unusually opaque photography, and the presence of a large number of evocative visual allusions stand out, wisely left without verbal comment from the characters. Behind the camera, Everardo Gout and the other directors of the series demonstrate that they possess a well-defined identity: this trait represents the true strength of the series, capable of successfully experimenting with atypical forms and languages.
The cast of supporting actors also shines, to which the credit goes for giving the characters credibility and for outlining them adequately and convincingly. Some sore points, which however fortunately do not affect the overall goodness of the final result, instead come from the script and the rhythms of the narration, which struggle to find the right balance. Being a season divided into just 6 episodes, the first 2 episodes are too dilated and rarefied in terms of content: the story takes an excessively long time to get to the point and then takes off with a drastic change of pace which, after a central arc solid and compelling, it leads to two final episodes – the fifth and sixth – full of evolutions, turns and twists. Sins of youth that, we hope, there will be time and way to correct in a possible second season: the ending seems to presuppose it in a more than explicit way, and the starting material to be inspired by is not lacking at all, since, on paper printed, American Jesus (2004) is followed by the more recent The New Messiah (2019) and Revelation (2022).
For the rest, the inevitable and essential themes of the bildungsroman mix seamlessly with the fantastic element thus giving shape and substance to what technically could be classified as a superhero movie, a key vein of cinecomics. The Chosen One, is an integral part of it due to its characteristics and modus operandi, even though the story is based on a very strong Christological and religious component, rather than an acquired or genetic superpower. Millar borrows themes and styles from both strands to then deliver to the authors of the series a kinetic and pop product that manages to intercept a rather heterogeneous audience of enthusiasts.
For his part, the Mexican screenwriter and director Everado Gout, not new to similar products devoted to entertainment such as Kaleidoscope, Luke Cage, and Judgment Forever, has put his own making the most of the potential of the story, of the character of Jodie (played here by a convincing Bobby Luhnow) and the Mexican setting, pushing hard on a direction with a very strong visual impact, where the technical and aesthetic solutions devised by him (including the use of 4:3) help to make everything very engaging. Everado Gout adapts the first of three volumes of the graphic novel American Jesus by Mark Millar and Peter Gross for the screen, making structural and environmental changes that make the six-episode series entitled Jodie, the Chosen even more engaging than the original. The choice to move the action from the United States to Mexico proved to be a winning move, thus becoming one of the added values, in addition to the direction and the performance of the young and promising Bobby Luhnow in the role of the protagonists, of a work to which hopefully there will be continuity.
The Chosen One (2023) Review: The Last Words
Halfway between teen drama and modern apocryphal gospel, The Chosen One shines for the acting skills of its young protagonist and an unusual, original, and very accurate direction. The narrative rhythm is uncertain, which starts with the handbrake on and then accelerates excessively. In any case, the disaster of Jupiter’s Legacy can be said to be largely redeemed. Overall, The Chosen One is a mixed bag. It has some strong elements, such as its performances and visuals, but it also has some weaknesses, such as its slow pacing and underdeveloped plot. If you’re a fan of coming-of-age stories with supernatural elements, then you might enjoy The Chosen One. However, if you’re looking for a more fast-paced and plot-driven show, then you might be disappointed.
The Chosen One (2023) Review: If Stranger Things Meets the Apocryphal Gospels - Filmyhype
Director: Everardo Gout, Leopoldo Gout
Date Created: 2023-08-18 17:03
4
Pros
- The way in which the different genres interact with each other
- The aesthetics
- The theme of power and how it changes people
Cons
- Some episodes are slower than others, but here the slowness is not necessarily a defect going to expand the narrative world
