Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

SnoopyStyle Father Daniel Clemens (Christian Slater) does money solicitation and financial work for the church. He's called in for admiror Father Andrews who was arrested for murder. Andrews can't prove his innocence due to the seal of confession. Clemens has his friend McCaran (Stephen Rea). Cardinal Ledesna (Gordon Pinsent) orders Clemens to handle the case. He struggles to do PR and investigate with the help of reporter Madeline Finney (Molly Parker) with whom he has a past.This is a Canadian production that pulled in some bigger actors. Stephen Rea is woefully underserved. It's obvious what they're setting him up for but it's a waste of a great actor. As a mystery, it doesn't lay out the clues and twists that well. The filmmaking is plain. It needs a better filmmaker to inject real intensity and brooding mood. Neither writer nor director seem to have gone on to do much else. The church's internal battle needs something bigger and more ominous. The forbidden love between Daniel and Madeline has no heat and is awkward when the heat is turned up. There are elements of a better film but this puts it together like a movie of the week. It's only when Stephen Rea, Slater, and Parker join forces do the movie starts pulling together.

Roedy Green This movie has a glacial pace. Nothing much happens until the final few minutes of the film for a chase.The movie is grim, bleak, gritty, dirty, shopworn, colourless. The protagonists are not very appealing. Even Christian Slater plays a sort of car salesman type personality who gradually grows some backbone.The movie depicts the tedium, hierarchy and obsession with ecclesiastical trivia that makes up a priest's life. The church is corrupt, concerned only with its image.Everybody in the movie would have been better off without the church. Their fascination with it derailed their lives.Molly Parker plays the lead female. She reminds me a bit of Olive Oyl with her unnaturally lanky body.Nancy Beatty plays a sort of Dickensian arch villain. She is about the only colourful character in the film.

William Sheridan Well acted piece that is driven by dialogue, as opposed to action. The other reviews miss the point. Behind the loosely constructed mystery lie question of what it means to lead a worthwhile life. An urbane priest is confronted with the resolve of another priest to preserve to the death the penitent's relationship with god in the confessional. He is a true believer and soldier of Christ.The urbane priest's deep Christian convictions slowly drag him back to his original priestly calling. This journey is made in a very modern believable way, simply and as a matter of factChristian Slater's understated acting is magnificent. Each line delivered realistically while accentuating the emotion behind each line.A low budget gem of a movie.

holderdj I agree with much of what has been said about Slater's career as of late and also hope that he returns to making interesting films.This film, however, was not.Spoilers begin: Red herrings were not: Did the priest do it protect his "other" life? Was it the spooky guy at the gay Catholic support group/mass? Was it the abusive head of the children's shelter? Was it the kids from the shelter pulling a "Primal Fear - Ed Norton" twist? It was none of these and it was the most obvious candidate for anyone who has ever watched one of these formulaic thrillers. There are only two "name" actors in the entire film, and one of the two is cast in an unimportant, unassuming role. Hmmmm. Are we supposed to be shocked when it's this actor? In all, the acting was fine, but there was very little character development and almost no tension.Watch it on the weekend, after lunch on a cold day with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Then promptly forget it.