I recall when I was a child, spending many Christmas days at my grandparents’ house. I remember one specific decoration in my Grandmother’s living room — her porcelain Nativity set. The clothing displayed was vibrant, Mary and Joseph appeared quite wealthy, which begged the question: “Why are they in a barn?”

These romanticized images are gone for the most part in the new film, “The Nativity Story,” directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

The film opens up to a nervous King Herod whose obsession to an ancient prophesy becomes deadly for many young Hebrew children. The rest of the film is told in a flashback leading up to this climatic event.

The story is told in several different perspectives; those being Mary and Joseph, King Herod, and what became one of my favorite aspects of the film, the Magi.

I won’t waste time telling the story, because many already know it. But this is where I see the task of producing such a film had to be difficult. From a writing standpoint there is very little in the form of dialogue or reactions to certain events, so the filmmakers are left adding these details.

For example, early in the film Mary is betrothed to Joseph and Mary’s reaction to this is great distaste; she even states that she doesn’t love Joseph. Now we don’t know that this was the true reaction of Mary, but this was one of many decisions that had to be made when writing this film. All in all, I felt screenwriter Mike Rich handled his job masterfully.

I loved the added material concerning the Magi (wise men). It chronicled their discovery of strange events occurring in their astronomy studies. Their humorous debate about whether to make the “journey” or not, and then we are treated to their travels that finally end in Bethlehem.

This film is a great departure from director Catherine Hardwicke’s best-known work, “Thirteen,” which told the story of a 13-year-old girl whose lifestyle changes as she’s influenced by the wrong people. I really got the feeling that Hardwicke loved telling this particular story. Hardwicke was proud of this work, and I felt it translated into the film very well.

Mary was portrayed by Keisha Castle-Hughes, who is most famous for her performance in “Whale Rider.” I thought she handled the important role well, but there were moments where I struggled to decide if Hughes was holding back because her character was supposed to be reserved, or that she just simply needed to pump more emotion into her performance. But I quickly put these thoughts to bed when I saw her performance in the birth scene. Her actions are very authentic here.

While I thought there were many great actors in this film, I found myself most impressed with Oscar Isaac, who portrayed Joseph. This is a character who usually takes a backseat in the story, but here, Joseph shines. When you see the face of Joseph as he notices Mary’s protruding stomach — wow. I wouldn’t change his expression in any way. And the moment when he confronts the woman he’s betrothed to, Isaac has the perfect mix of someone who loves a person so much that he’s willing to remain respectful to this girl and also still look like he’s ready to blow up at the same time — incredible performance.

Other aspects that stand out are the little things. The film really portrays Christ’s entrance into the world as a truly humbling beginning. Gone is the barn we’re used to seeing in typical Nativity scenes. No, this animal house is in a grimy cave filled with sheep and other livestock. Mary has her baby on the floor of this cave, and well, I’ll let your imagination run with that one.

The most important aspect of the story, of course, still maintains in the film. The reason for Christmas is Christ, and this is a powerful reminder during the busied hustle of the holiday.

“The Nativity Story,” a New Line Cinema release, is rated PG.