March 16, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW:
CELEBRITY INTERVIEW: Terrence J
‘The Young Messiah’ Chronicles Critical
Year in the Life of the Christ Child
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
T
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
2
015 was certainly a banner year
for Christian-oriented fare, with
over 30 faith-based films being
released in theaters. 2016 ap-
pears to be following suit, with Risen,
The Lady in the Van and The Witch
among the offerings already featuring
heavy religious overtones.
Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (The
Stoning of Soraya M.), The Young Mes-
siah is a Biblical bildungsroman chron-
icling critical events which transpired
during a momentous year in the life of
the Christ child (Adam Greaves-Neal).
The intriguing historical drama was
adapted from Christ the Lord: Out of
Egypt, a best seller by the legendary
Anne Rice, the Grand Dame of Gothic
Fiction.
That debut foray into Chris-
tian-themed literature represented a
big departure for Rice who neverthe-
less earned Beliefnet’s 2005 Book of
the Year for her opus based on the Gos-
pels as well as on theological scholar-
ship. And now Nowrasteh has brought
a version of the story to the big screen
certain to capture the imagination of
the target churchgoing demographic.
After all, the New Testament reveals
precious little about Jesus’ formative
years, and this ambitious project man-
ages to flesh them out ever so convinc-
ingly. As the film unfolds, we find Him
living in Alexandria and behaving like
your typical seven-year-old while His
parents, Mary (Sara Lazzaro) and Jo-
seph (Vincent Walsh), struggle with
how to go about explaining the con-
cept of God to His own Son.
We also learn that they have been
living in exile because of King Herod’s
(Jonathan Bailey) order his soldiers
to massacre all the young boys of
Bethlehem. The maniacal despot was
determined to prevent the rumored
Messiah from ever seizing the throne.
Vincent Walsh as Joseph with Adam Greaves-Neal
as the Christ Child
Herod’s demise frees the family to
return home, although the obsessed
centurion Severus (Sean Bean) is still
searching for Jesus and sees a little
King of the Jews lurking behind every
rock.
Meanwhile, Jesus goes about inad-
vertently healing His sick uncle, cur-
ing a blind rabbi, and raising both a
bully and a bird back from the dead.
And He performs plenty of random
acts of kindness, too.
But He remains desperate for an ex-
planation of these superpowers until
Mary finally ‘fesses up about every-
thing from the Immaculate Concep-
tion to the Virgin Birth to His divine
destiny. A plausible, cinematic parable
presuming to fill in gaps in the Biblical
narrative of the Lord’s early life.
errence Jenkins, aka Terrence J,
was born in Queens, New York
on April 21, 1982, but raised in
Raleigh and Rocky Mount, North
Carolina. He earned a Bachelor’s of
Science degree in Broadcast Journal-
ism at North Carolina A&T University
where he also worked as a DJ and was
served as Student Body President.
In 2006, Terrence launched his tele-
vision career as host of BET’s “106 &
Park.” That same year, he made his
movie debut alongside Zoe Saldana
and Wood Harris in The Heart Special-
ist. He parlayed that success into roles
in Stomp the Yard 2, Think Like a Man
and Sparkle, to name a few. And just
last year, he played himself in the big-
screen version of Entourage.
Terrence has blossomed into a char-
ismatic actor, philanthropist and
author who is now one of the most
recognizable faces in Hollywood, most
recently, as the co-anchor of the news
program “E! News.” The three-time
Emmy Award-nominee also spent sev-
en years hosting BET’s “106 & Park,”
the longest-running music countdown
show in television history.
Terrence published his first literary
work, The Wealth of My Mother’s Wis-
dom, in 2014, and he’s also a model and
spokesperson for several brands, in-
cluding Jeep Wrangler, Crown Royal
Black Whiskey, Sean John and Snap-
ple. He’s appeared in GQ magazine
four times in the past couple years, too.
Away from work, Terrence is heavily
Author/actor Terrence J
invested in numerous philanthropic
endeavors. For instance, he served as a
Centennial Ambassador in the Nation-
al Park Service’s 100th anniversary
“Find Your Park” campaign.
Furthermore, he’s a spokesperson
for Ronald McDonald House Charities
Future Achievers Scholarship cam-
paign, a mentor with Steve Harvey’s
Disney Dreamers Academy, and an
avid supporter of the Newark, New
Jersey, Boys and Girls Club. Closely as-
sociated with the Obama Administra-
tion, Terrence has been tapped to host
the White House student film festival.
Here, he talks about his latest outing
opposite Cassie Ventura in The Perfect
Match, a romantic comedy revolving
around a shameless player who takes a
dare to remain faithful to one woman
for an entire month.
See TERRENCE on page 11
Excellent HHHH
Rated PG-13 for violence and mature
themes
Running time: 111 mi.
Distributor: Focus Features
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