Priest

I just re-watched Priest after 12 years, and I think it is even more powerful and relevant now it was then, given the scandals in the Catholic Church and the rise of religious militancy and fundamentalism in the world.

While occasionally teetering on the brink of preachiness and soap opera, Priest is saved by tight direction and very fine acting. It effectively shows the humaness of people in the Church, as opposed to how some would have you believe.

As a person not all attached to organized religion, I obviously find much to approve of here. But the strength of Priest is that someone who loves the Catholic Church for what is really is, the teachings of Jesus, and not what cruel, irrational and ignorant human beings have made of it will find much to be enriched by here. Priest is not anti-Catholic at all, not in the true sense of the word. Rather, it is anti human folly.

Of course that segment that is fundamentalist and inflexible, who cannot imagine - horrors! - that a Priest could be gay have and will continue to express their moral outrage and call this "hate speech."

As a final note, I also happened to read Roger Ebert's inexplicible review of Priest. If I hadn't seen his name on it, I would think it was written by Michael Medved. Since Ebert is generally religion neutral and very gay positive, I simply don't understand his outrage at all - very puzzling indeed. And he gives Mel's hideous Passion of the Christ, one of the most immoral and disgusting movies ever made (again most especially if you ARE religious) a perfect 10.

You need to have watched a few BBC dramas, and like the style in order to really appreciate this film. It may seem slow in the eyes of viewers used with the American cinema approach, but I tremor to the thought of how Hollywood could have spoiled this film, and I am happy that the script fell in Brits hands first. 'Priest' is a complex film, dealing with hard issues of incest and homo-sexuality, but first with the conflict between the priest mission as a moral leader and the Procustian laws of the Catholic church he needs to obeye by. The ideological content may be controversial for many, it was partly for me as well, but I cannot help admiring the well kept balance, the dramatic tension, and the masterful way the excellent team of actors is filling the roles. I wonder how comes that Linus Roache is not a bigger star after having made this film about one decade ago. He certainly deserves to be in the same line as some of his generation colleagues who have succeeded that well in American and world cinema.

Yes, the film is controversial, you may not agree with some of the ideas and it looks sometimes as a cinema manifest, but it is still a good and human film. I less liked the final, which is the only place in the script where art logic seems to surrender to the religious concepts. 9/10 on my personal scale.

Father Greg Pilkington arrives at a Liverpool parish full of strict morals and ideals, he's horrified by the lifestyle of the Liberally minded Father Matthew Thomas. Greg's mindset is changed however, when he hears the shocking confession of schoolgirl Lisa.

It's a other quality film from The BBC, the content it was putting out in the 90's was truly first rate, oh for those days.

This is an outstanding, thought provoking piece of drama, I imagine this had The Catholic Church up in arms when it was transmitted, back then homosexuality wouldn't have been tolerated, definitely not from a Priest.

Greg is tortured by his restraints, he's desperate to right a wrong, but is shackled by the restraints placed upon him, the injustice sends him into a rage.

This would have touched a few nerves, two big suspects, abuse and a gay priest. The former is stomach turning, and that scene where Greg hears The Father's confession is sickening, for non Catholics this is of course a huge problem, a confession that goes unpunished (on Earth that is.)

For 1994, this would have been quite explicit, the sex scenes between Roach and Carlyle are pretty daring, and for a mainstream film, audiences may not have been prepared.

Superb acting from start to finish, Linus Roache is incredible, what a performance, Robert Carlyle and Robert Pugh are also on point.

This film is now thirty years old, and it is still remarkably good.

10/10.

A young handsome Catholic priest Father Greg (Linus Roache) starts at a new parish in London. He butts heads with the older and more lenient Father Matthew (Tom Wilkinson) but they become friends. But Greg is gay and sneaks out to gay bars to meet men. He meets up with Graham (Robert Carlyle) and they fall in love--but Greg feels guilty about it. Also a young girl tells him in confession that her father is sexually using her--but he can't tell anybody. Slowly these two issues start to drive him crazy...

Excellent drama. This was attacked by the Catholic church (who didn't see it) as being anti-Catholic. Director Antonia Bird said she wasn't trying to blast the Catholic church--and she doesn't! She's pointing out some issues that the Catholic church has and should be dealt with. The church is not demonized--they show the good and the bad. The film is well-written--I never thought theological discussions could be interesting but they are! Also they don't pull back--there is some extreme anti-gay language but it is needed for the story. The sex scenes between Carlyle and Roache are pretty tame though--especially in the American version where they're edited (stupid censors!).

The acting is superb. Carlyle is just excellent: Wilkinson was also good but Roache is just incredible. You see the pain in his face and feel his struggle trying to reconcile his faith with his orientation. The most powerful sequence comes when he breaks down in front of a cross begging God to help him.

I don't want to make it sound like this is all gloom and doom. There are some very funny moments mixed in too. The ending is sad but realistic (unfortunately). A powerful and moving film. A must-see. 10 all the way.

Father Greg Pilkinton (Linus Roache) is a young, dedicated, idealistic and yet conservative (comparing to his colleague, Father Matthew Thomas, played by Tom Wilkinson) priest who has recently arrived in his new parish. He works hard with total faith and devotion. Soon after moving in to Father Matthew's house, he discovers that Father Matthew has been having a relationship with his maid. Later on, a school girl, Lisa (Christine Tremarco) confesses to him that her father has been sexually abusing her, Father Greg faces his inner struggle on whether to reveal the truth to the authority, or remain silent in order not to break his vow.

Confused and frustrated, Father Greg goes to a pub and meets Graham (Robert Carlyle) and later they have sex. They are to stay in an on-and-off relationship. Now Father Greg must confront his human desire and his sexuality. Eventually, he also has to deal with his being arrested while making love in a parked car and the devastating consequences.

This film challenges the entire system. Must a priest (or a nun) remain celibate? Should we leave out non-heterosexuals for being Catholics or whatever? Must a priest remain silent when hearing a serious problem or even an about-to-be-committed crime (which happens all the time in Northern Ireland) and do nothing? Can all priests honestly give themselves away completely to God and refrain from letting their human emotion, human desire flow? Don't some priests become child molesters because they've been trying to repress their human desire for too long (this seems outside the subject. On the other hand, not all priests commit such a crime)? Should we refuse to show compassion towards certain people simply because they are different from us and that their life styles are 'not accepted' by society or the usual moral standard? Still, who is the hypocrite here? Father Matthew's relationship with his housekeeper has never been revealed. If otherwise, he would be rejected, too. He leads a double life. Being a 'liberal' priest and breaking his vow of celibacy at the same time. But WHO are the hypocrites? Aren't we all?

'Priest' is not about a story of one priest. It's about any one priest. And the movie is compelling and well-made. One thing for sure, the Roman Catholic Church would not be pleased with this film.