Idris Elba (Thor) stars in director Debbie Tucker Green’s (Random) Second Coming, an independent film about a man whose wife becomes pregnant seemingly through immaculate conception. This atmospheric first teaser trailer reveals the strain on the family as this news hits.
The mother in the story is played by Nadine Marshall (Love At First Sight), who doesn’t speak in the trailer but silently cries as someone off camera asks her, “Do you still think you’re giving birth to the second coming?” Idris Elba is silent in the trailer as well, looking defeated as the strain impacts the couple’s marriage. Despite its concept, the film looks to be grounded in reality, except for the moment where Marshall’s character has water coming at her, suggesting that it could be more like a magical realism piece.
Within recent films there’s been a lot of exploration of Christian stories. Films such as Noah, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and Son Of God have made a resurgence of Bible-based films. Green’s take is very different from these by instead focusing on the “second coming,” when, according to the Bible, the savior will return to Earth. In the Bible with Jesus, Mary becomes pregnant without being married and her betrothed, Joseph, must decide if he will still take her to be his wife, whether or not he truly believes that she is carrying the Messiah. Second Coming is exploring this similar strain with a pregnant wife and a husband that can’t believe that this is the “second coming,” placing it within a modern setting. Not only will the film be looking at the stigma of a child with an unknown father, but also at faith in an age dependent on scientific explanation.
Second Coming made its debut at the Toronto Film Festival and will soon be coming out in the UK; it doesn’t yet have a U.S. distributor.
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