The Chosen: A Review

Gregory Maguire’s unique account of The Wicked Witch of the West, whom he named Elphaba – a homage to L. Frank Baum (L.F.B.), the character’s original creator – has so riveted me that I have since developed a fascination for narratives that depict characters, beloved or otherwise, under a different light. It’s one of the reasons the TV series Once Upon A Time captivated my imagination and why Dallas Jenkins’ The Chosen has accomplished the same feat.

The Chosen, however, has achieved far more than any of the body of work I mentioned above. Maguire and the creators of Once Upon A Time have succeeded in re-imagining well-known fairy tales; but I daresay that the job of expounding on Cinderella’s story is not as daunting as limning Jesus and His disciples from a fresh point of view; the former, after all, is not constrained by the added responsibility of ensuring that they don’t misrepresent history or going against Biblical truth.

I grew up watching revered personalities in the Bible portrayed by various actors on TV, on stage, or on the big screen. The story of Jesus, specifically – His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection – have been featured ad nauseam for years. The characterizations themselves were powerful because of the inherent nature of what they were chronicling, and as someone familiar with the Gospel accounts, I sat through those productions and have appreciated them from a perspective of a Christian cherishing her faith in Jesus Christ. The Chosen, on the other hand, has not only delighted the believer in me but has enraptured me as a film buff, story fiend, and lover of all artistic expressions.

The direction, the screenplay, the musical score, the cinematography, and the actors’ performances – particularly Jonathan Roumie as Jesus – are all commendable. However, you could have all of these elements working together and still not create a masterpiece the same way Dallas Jenkins did in this series. How he has managed to do so is something beyond his own knack for telling stories and I’m certain that Jenkins himself would agree. 

The Bible is already a treasure trove of fascinating stories that will move you to tears. The account of Jesus’ interactions with individuals in the Gospels alone is a gold mine for filmmakers and many have tapped into it for decades. What they have failed to execute was explore just how human Jesus was in a manner that The Chosen has effectively done: practical and realistic. They showed Jesus earning a living building wooden toys for children, starting a camp fire, cooking, and nursing a cut – He might as well have been my next door neighbor. They have credibly translated the humanity of Jesus without diminishing His deity.

Jenkins and his team have also added another dimension to each of the individuals that Jesus encountered during His ministry by giving them compelling back stories without tainting the truth. As a result, they have knitted a colorful tapestry of characters that are extremely relatable on a personal level.

Whenever I watch a movie or TV series, I tend to pick favorite lines and scenes. The Chosen, however, is eight episodes worth of stirring moments and memorable words that evoke strong emotional reactions and inspire meaningful intellectual discussions that choosing the ones I prefer was a challenging task. I did manage – with a measure of difficulty – to choose one scene from each episode.

Episode 1: I Have Called You By Name

Lilith, a woman tormented by evil spirits for most of her life, was about to consume a beverage that she thought would help drown the excruciating torture she battled for years. Jesus walked into the bar, touched the hand that she used to reached out for the glass, and said, “That’s not for you.”

Lilith then hastily left the bar with the glass in her hand after her brief conversation with Jesus when suddenly she heard Him say, “Mary of Magdala.”

She dropped the glass, turned with a perplexed look on her face and asked, “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Jesus answered, “Thus says the Lord who created you...”

Mary couldn’t believe her ears. Those were the words her father taught her as a child and she knew them by heart.

“...and He who formed you. Fear not for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name,” Jesus continued saying as He walked slowly towards her then said, “You are mine.”

Jesus touched Mary’s face and she cried and melted into His embrace.

(It was an intensely personal and relatable moment. That look. That voice. I have imagined it my whole life and to have a visual representation of that person in my head was nothing sort of surreal. Jonathan Roumie is every bit how I’ve pictured Jesus to be and Elizabeth Tabish brought Mary of Magdala’s character to life so effectively. This scene brings on the tears every single time.)

Episode 2: Shabat

Matthew sat on the ground outside his home and quietly ate his Shabat dinner with his dog.

(The scene was part of a video montage of various households celebrating Shabat shown towards the end of the episode. It was only a few seconds long but the moment was so poignant it stayed with me even as the end credits started to roll. Paras Patel played to perfection the role of Matthew who, in this series, was portrayed as someone exhibiting symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome and an obsessive-compulsive behavior. Patel’s rendition of the Jewish tax collector shunned by his people and his family was so affecting that even though I knew he would later become one of Jesus’ disciples, I rooted for him the entire time. Perhaps it’s this part of me that has an affinity for people with special needs, but Matthew – next to Jesus – is my favorite character in the show and I thoroughly enjoyed every scene with him in it.)

Episode 3: Jesus Loves the Little Children

One of the children who came to hangout with Jesus asked Him, “Is Your Father rich?”

Jesus laughed and asked, “Did Abigail tell you to ask me that?”

The boy answered, “No.”

Then Jesus continued, “That is a question for another time.”

(The entire episode focused on Jesus’ interaction with the children who stumbled upon his makeshift camp in the middle of a field. Jenkins and his team did a superb job fleshing out Jesus’ easygoing ways when dealing with kids and each moment revealed his preference for the little ones. This particular scene is one of my favorites because it spoke directly to me. Someone who loves to ask questions would understand why Jesus’ answer to this boy was extremely noteworthy. Jesus essentially told him – or me – that his question was valid and had merit, it just didn’t need to be answered at the time.) 

Episode 4. The Rock On Which It Is Built

Simon sat in his boat and tried to catch fish – and failed – in the middle of the night out of desperation because he needed to pay his overdue taxes to Rome the following day. In his frustration, he screams and went into this rant directed at God:

“’And I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the heavens.’ And then what, huh? Make the chosen as many as the stars only to let Egypt enslave us for generations! Bring us out of Egypt, part the Red Sea, only to let us wander in the desert for 40 years! Give us the land, only to let us be exiled in Babylon. Bring us back, only to be crushed by Rome! This is the God I’ve served so faithfully my entire life. You’re the God I’m supposed to thank. You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d say You enjoy yanking us around like goats and can’t decide whether we’re chosen or not. Which one is it, huh?”

(Who hasn’t uttered a variation of these words at some point in their lives? I certainly have. This particular scene shows how we can be vulnerable before God and He won’t strike us with lightning (LOL). He already knows the things that bother us anyway so He understands whenever we are overwhelmed by our circumstances and we resort to blaming Him for our perceived misfortunes. Shahar Isaac’s portrayal of the Simon in the Gospels who had a loud mouth, impatient, and impulsive, was on point. However, he did manage to make Simon a little bit more endearing and relatable than in the Biblical accounts; and that is a great thing.)

Episode 5. The Wedding Gift

Simon was relating to his wife, Eden, how he met Jesus, how he has decided to quit fishing, take Jesus’ offer, and follow Him. When he saw that Eden was upset, he said, “I know, I know, I know it makes no sense, and I knew it would make you upset, all I can tell you is if this is...”

Eden interrupted him and said, “I’m not upset. Oh, why would I be upset? Come here. Come here.” When Simon walked up to her, she continued, “This is the man that I married.”

Simon looks at her and asked, “And you believe me?”

“You couldn’t make this up,” Eden answered with a laugh then continues, “Of course He chose you.”

“I don’t know why He did. I tried to tell Him I’m a sinful man,” Simon said.

“Everyone is sinful,” Eden assured him.

“I don’t know what this means. I don’t know yet how I’m going to provide,” Simon said with concern.

“I don’t care about that,” Eden said reassuringly.

“Then why are you crying?” Simon asked.

“Because someone finally sees in you what I’ve always seen... you’re more than a fisherman.”

(It was a moving moment between a husband and a wife standing at a threshold of, perhaps, the biggest decision they were ever going to make their entire lives. This last line that Eden said was particularly moving because it reminded me of how I often think like Simon and underestimate my value based on how I see myself instead of how God sees me – ‘more than a fisherman’. Lara Silva as Eden is equal parts feisty and stubborn yet gentle and supportive of her husband. She has such a chemistry with Shahar Isaac that their banter and scenes together as a couple are so effortless and believable.)

Episode 6. Indescribable Compassion

The conversation that transpired between Nicodemus (Erick Avari) and Shmuel (Shaan Sharma) after John the Baptist was accused and arrested for spreading heresy among the Jews is one of my favorite scenes in this episode. The following are the lines that Erick Avari delivered with such passion and conviction that I saved them in my bank of quotable words for future use:

“And if God did something that you felt contradicted the Torah, would you tell him to get back in that box that you have carved for Him? Or would you question your own interpretation of the Torah?”

“Fear alone ensures we remain ignorant, asleep in the safety of a rigid tradition. Take the Sadducees, they take the first five books, the law of Moses, as inspired Scripture. The rest they disregard. To them, God stopped speaking when Moses died. Think of all they have missed: the Psalms of David, the stories of Ruth and Boaz, Esther and Mordecai... I don’t want to live in some bleak past where God cannot do anything new, do you?”

“Let’s look to the ancient roads where the good way is and walk in it, as Jeremiah said, and still keep our eyes open to the startling and the unexpected.”

Episode 7: Invitations

Jesus met with Nicodemus on a dimly lit rooftop. The following is a snippet of their conversation:

Jesus: The human eye is drawn to light. We can’t help it, it just happens. 

Nicodemus: There are many things we are drawn to without our thinking or our ability to explain why.

Jesus: (looks at Nicodemus silently)

Nicodemus: Thank you for agreeing to meet.

Jesus: Thank you for trying to help Mary when you did.

Nicodemus: I was no help.

Jesus: You were meant to be there.

Nicodemus: Me? So I could fail miserably at an exorcism in the Red Quarter?

Jesus: If you had not been there that day, would you be on this roof tonight?

Nicodemus: I don’t know where to start, I have so many questions.

Jesus: Shall we sit first?

(I love this scene for the richness – in symbolism and theology – of the dialogue. Plus it revealed a lot about Jesus character and personality, one of which is how He takes His time and does not rush into things [‘shall we sit first’], and it sort of introduces the uninitiated to the heart of Jesus’ ministry. It also showed Nicodemus’ heart and desire for the truth and how He sat there before Jesus, thirsty and hungry for more than what the world could offer.)

Episode 8: I Am He

Jesus and His disciples passed through Samaria and there He met Photina, a Samaritan woman drawing water from a well, and they talked about a variety of things in a short span of time and culminated with Jesus revealing Himself to Photina as The Messiah.

This is a popular Gospel account and Jenkins did a wonderful job at capturing the vast array of emotions that Photina felt before, during, and after she met Jesus. When Photina ran with such glee from the well towards her village shouting, “Come see a Man who told me everything I ever did!” her joy was so unmistakable and I couldn’t help but feel buoyed by her jubilation. Vanessa DeSilvio portrayed a woman who carried the weight of the world (and water!) on her shoulders with such a believable intensity that you would rejoice with her when she finally left all that weight at Jesus feet (the water, literally; and the world, figuratively).

Another scene in Episode 8 that was singularly gut wrenching was Nicodemus crying – hidden behind a wall so Jesus and the disciples wouldn’t see him – as he struggled with the dilemma of wanting to follow Jesus but he could not leave his family, his reputation, and the life he had built. In a separate story in the Bible, Jesus said that it’s easier for a camel to enter into the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. How painful that moment must’ve been for Nicodemus! Avari’s performance in that scene deserves an award for sure!

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The Chosen is a work of art that achieves its goal of introducing Jesus to a world disillusioned with God. If I were a nonbeliever or a backslider and I watch these relatable characters’ lives unfold onscreen – Jesus, especially – I would definitely take a second look at what I have been missing all along. So kudos to Dallas Jenkins, the actors, and the entire team for creating this masterpiece. With the level of anointing that’s evident in this first season and the caliber of talent working on it, I am certain that the coming seasons would be worth looking forward to.

"Get used to different."