A reluctant Jesus is taken to the cross and given a chance at a normal life.

It is important to remember (and we are reminded in the preceding film titles) that this is not based on Scripture, but is a fictionalized take into the inner feelings of Christ. If we remember that and focus on the quality of this piece of film fiction, we can greater enjoy the movie.

Dafoe does a remarkable job as Jesus. You can really see the development of the character and look into his thought processes; it is one of the more impressive performances in recent cinema. Barbara Hershey is a standout also as Mary Magdalene.

The overall story and production quality gets better and better from the beginning leading up to the Crucifixion. It plateaus there—but yet again that's a tough act to follow.

Directed by Martin Scorsese.