Jeymes Samuel’s film is an almighty laugh... at times

This witty but uneven Christian epic stars LaKeith Stanfield as a charismatic conman from Jerusalem who poses as the Messiah,

The Book Of Clarence (15A, 129mins) ★★★

He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy! It’s impossible to watch The Book Of Clarence and not be reminded of Life Of Brian, Monty Python’s full frontal assault on the sacred cows of Christianity. Condemned from the pulpit, banned in Ireland and Italy, denounced on British television, Life Of Brian turned the Passion of Jesus into a vaudeville knockabout by slyly transforming the crucifixion into a matter of mistaken identity.

Jeymes Samuel’s film does precisely the same thing but, in the end, can’t decide if it’s making fun of the New Testament or singing its praises. It has its moments though, and is led from the front by LaKeith Stanfield, a fine actor too seldom in the spotlight. He is Clarence, a charming wide boy ducking and diving his way through the streets of Jerusalem.

It’s 33AD, and the occupying Romans are sick and tired of hearing about Jesus, a Galilean prophet who’s amassed a large following and claims to be the son of God.

Clarence is not that keen on him either: his twin brother Thomas is one of the apostles, and Clarence reckons it’s all a load of nonsense.

There is no God, and meanwhile he has more pressing matters, namely an outstanding debt to a local crime boss, Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi-Abrefa), who seems intent on living up to his name.

To complicate matters, Clarence is in love with Jedediah’s daughter Varinia (Anna Diop), who’s flattered but doesn’t think he’s a realistic marriage prospect. He certainly won’t be if he’s dead, but after losing his shirt in a chariot race against a dynamic Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor), Clarence hits on a daring plan that might solve all his problems.

There’s big money in the messiah business, he reckons, so if he poses as one himself and performs miracles for money, before you know it he’ll have paid off his debts and won the hand of the fair Varinia.

When his best friend Elijah (RJ Cyler) points out that all of this is rather blasphemous, Clarence shrugs: all miracles are magic tricks anyway, so his will be no different.

Clarence has been rebuffed by the disciples, given a hard time in the River Jordan by John the Baptist (David Oyelowo), and is out to teach those smug Christers a lesson. But as his fame and following grows, he draws the unwelcome attention of the Romans, who now begin to wonder if he might not be the real Messiah.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Amina, Clarence’s mother, who watches worrying from the sidelines as her son’s fame grows. Micheal Ward of Top Boy is a sly and watchful Judas Iscariot, and Omar Sy is Barabbas, a burly and slightly unhinged gladiator who becomes Clarence’s devoted minder.

Clarence is troubled by a good conscience, and abruptly decides to spend his ill-gotten gains freeing slaves forced to fight in the arena. Most of all, though, he wants to find out what is so special about Jesus Christ, and goes to visit his parents to find out how he does those magic tricks. Not surprisingly, Mary and Joseph (Alfre Woodard, Brian Bovell) give him short shrift.

It’s no coincidence that Hollywood Romans are usually played by English people, who slip easily into the smug and superior attitudes of the empire builder. But it’s a Scot and an Irishman who must do the heavy lifting here.

James McAvoy is great fun as Pontius Pilate, a sexually ambivalent, eyeliner-wearing dilettante who is highly amused by Clarence’s antics until they threaten his career. And Tom Vaughan-Lawlor is tetchiness itself as Antoninus, a grumpy centurion.

Like Life Of Brian, The Book Of Clarence pokes fun at the mindlessness of the sheepish follower, but stops short of a two-footed tackle on Christ.

This is a US film, remember, and no standup American is ever going to try and take down Our Lord, whose stock has remained consistently high in the land of the free.

And so in the end, the film hedges its bets, and casts Jesus (Nicholas Pinnock) as the Gary Cooper of the piece, riding in at the last moment to save the day.

In cinemas from Friday, April 19

The film pokes fun at the mindlessness of sheepish followers, but stops short of a twofooted tackle on Christ