"I can't envision her as half Maori, either."
So, I take it, you would insist that any actress who plays the BVM must be Jewish, right?
That pretty much eliminates Mary from just about every church Nativity Play or pageant I've ever seen in any Catholic church or school I've ever been to. I've been to TONS of those, since I and all my kids went to Catholic school. I don't think I've ever seen a Jewish girl play Mary.
Last year I went to a school play where the Mary was a sweet-looking young African American girl. It was very touching.
I haven't seen the movie & I don't know if I will, but I think the race of the actress is not an issue.
The beauty of the gospel is that it is universally inspirational.
( I am the happy owner of an original painting by the Benedictine painter, Fr. John Giuliani, showing St. Joseph as a young Native American in a Navajo chief's blanket. I never gaze at it without feeling impelled to contemplate the mystery & glory of my faith.)