For two hours, with only an occasional pause or gentle flashback, we watch, stupefied, as a handsome, strapping, at times half-naked young man (James Caviezel) is slowly tortured to death.
Mel Gibson is a strange character study.
Leading on from the discussion below of books that deal with puberty and related issues, and have therefore been banned from libraries, I found the closing paragraph poignant.
What is most depressing about 'The Passion' is the thought that people will take their children to see it. Jesus said, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me', not 'Let the little children watch me suffer'. How will parents deal with the pain, terror, and anger that children will doubtless feel as they watch a man flayed and pierced until dead?
I got this link from metafilter, where there is a long discussionof this review.