Up there with a long single-take shot, is my love for a good enclosed dialogue driven scene or film. They often can feel stagey as opposed to cinematic, but I do enjoy when it is well done because it challenges the direct to use the space but keep things intimate, and it lets the actors show what they can do when give the room - likewise, the writing is very much under scrutiny since it is one of the key things keeping you there. Bless Me Father is not perfect, but it does all of these things very well. It sees a story unfold within the confines of the confessional booth, and the viewer is carried along with it.
On a grand scale, it is not very dramatic, but the film keeps us in that room, and wholly engaged on the characters - the result being that anything impacting for them is felt as significant within the film, because the film makes it so with its focus. The writing is spot-on for the most part, and the dialogue comes over as natural. The performances are good - although Magee is by far the stronger of the two, but then he arguably had the more straightforward job as his character is in the driving seat. Direction and camera work looks simple with its limited shots, but it used the space well to keep the characters together but separate at the same time.
Solidly engaging and a good example of it being more than the sum of its parts.
