Le traître de dieu

The roll of a rather naïve young priest, with plenty of shy, sex appeal gives Tommy lee Jones an opportunity to flex his acting chops in this made for TV film.

When he comes upon a dying young man, a man who professes his devotion to the church, rather than name his killer, Father Joseph McMahon (Jones) takes upon himself a quest to learn more about the man, and the circumstances surrounding his murder.

This quest opens the priest to a whole new world outside the sheltered existence of his parish. When he meets the slain man's girlfriend (Annette O'Toole), they begin an emotional intertwine.

Fine fare with above average performances and a good cast including David Strathairn, a striking Frances Fisher, M. Emmet Walsh, and Milo O'Shea.

Good, solid, emotional drama.

This TV movie was so unexpected in its subject matter and so thoughtful in its execution that it blew me away when I first saw it in 1987. When it showed up again on Lifetime years later, I made sure to get it on tape.

Tommy Lee Jones is Father Joe MacMahon. One of several priests at an inner-city church, he is settling into middle-age and his unchallenging duties, which don't include any real outreach to the people in the neighborhood. Without realizing it he has settled into mediocrity. When he is called to the death bed of a man who has been stabbed, he is shocked and puzzled that the man--though nominally a Catholic--refuses the last rites of the Church, preferring to die on his own terms, secure in his sense of God, and without saying who stabbed him. It's not so much that Joe's faith is shaken by this encounter, but he is made aware of his own complacency. He sets out to solve the mystery of the man's life and death, so as to try to understand his perspective on faith. He is joined along the way by Annette O'Toole, the dead man's sometime girlfriend, and a romantic awareness arises between them that is played out with humor and grace.

This is one of the few movies that deals with questions of faith, and it does so thoughtfully. Despite the murder mystery and the Thornbirds sort of situation with the priest and the girl beginning to fall for one another, this is not a flashy sort of film. The reviewer who thought the film attacks the Catholic Church is quite wrong. What the film is addressing is the need for faith to be humane, active and mindful, whether in the Church or outside of it. The film moves quietly, the tension provided by Jones' questing intelligence and the sense he gives that Joe is awake and aware for the first time in years. Jones is supported by a fine cast, especially Annette O'Toole as the good-humored and decent, if slightly kooky, artist, and also M. Emmett Walsh, Frances Fisher, Milo O'Shea, David Groh, and Jean de Baer. A then-new David Strathairn has a tiny but pivotal moment as the Christlike dying man, convincing us that this is a man who would leave a permanent mark on the soul of the priest whose offices he so gently refused.

"Broken Vows" doesn't provide sensationalism or thrills. In fact, its few attempts to generate excitement or suspense feel artificially ramped up. But the beautiful writing, and the actors firing on all cylinders because they know they have meaty material to work with, hold us to the end. This is a movie of ideas that richly repays the viewer who enters its world on its terms.

this is one of the most charming movies I've seen, but also with moments of drama, comedy and just all round good feeling. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as always, and Annette O'Toole is wonderful as the girlfriend of the murder victim, and also Mr Jones's character's subsequent love interest. It is genuinely warm and moving without being too sweet or sickly as some love stories are. Mr Jones is a wonderful actor and this gives him yet another chance to shine as a priest torn between his duty to his calling and the woman he has come to love. Well worth a watch.

In Broken Vows, Tommy Lee Jones plays a shy, diffident Catholic priest who arrives at a crime scene just in time to give the last rites to the victim (David Straitharn). Intrigued by the slain man's last words, Jones sets out to find out more about him and the circumstances leading to his murder. For the first time, he ventures outside of the sheltered and ritualized world of the priesthood in which he has become immured and begins to meet people from all walks of life. In the course of his investigation, Jones meets the slain man's girlfriend, played by Annette O'Toole. The two immediately strike sparks off one another and an awkward, lively and tender relationship develops between the two. In a departure from his usual blustery macho roles, Tommy Lee Jones is in fine form as a young priest whose entire world is shaken as a consequence of a chance encounter with a dying man. The manner of man's death reawakens Jones' intellect and sensuality. For the first time, he questions the dogma that rules his circumscribed life and partakes of the life that exists beyond the doors of his church.

In a dubious neighborhood in Manhattan, a Catholic priest (Jones) starts to question his occupation after talking with a dying man (David Strathairn) and meeting the woman in whom the victim was once involved (Annette). M. Emmet Walsh is on hand as a know-it-all detective.

I guess "Broken Vows" (1987) is technically a television production helmed by a proven TV director (Jud Taylor) and this can be observed in the wooden delivery of the characters' dialogues (like they just learned their lines the night before). Once you get past that issue, however, this ranks with Tommy Lee's best movies, just don't expect the action thrills of "The Fugitive." Rather, it has 'thrills' in the sense of real-life drama, which can be more compelling than overkill action if done effectively, at least for the mature-minded.

Annette was still in her prime at 34 years-old during shooting and so was Frances Fisher, who has a smaller part as Maureen. Meanwhile Jones was 40.

I also appreciated the unexpected depiction of artists and their studios in the big city. I had a couple of friends in this uncertain line of work; one was my best friend at the time and his studio looked very similar to Stuart Chase's in the movie, aka Amil.

The film works on three fronts: There's the murder mystery, there's McMahon's struggles with the usefulness of his profession and the Catholic sect in general, and, lastly, the relationship of the two protagonists. As my title blurb suggests, the flick commendably addresses the good, the bad and the ugly of life's blessings & curses and everything in between.

The lowkey route is taken and the movie's the better for it. For instance, we sense what's going on underneath the surface, but it's not spelled out. Lesser flicks require a passionate sex scene to 'wow' the viewer whereas this one opts for a revelatory statement or the simple clasping & kissing of hands.

It runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Montréal, Québec.

GRADE: B+