''Cold Heaven'' is a 1991 American supernatural thriller film directed by

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance'' (1970), '' Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), '' The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...

, and starring

Theresa Russell Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films. Born in San Diego, ...

James Russo James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in over 150 films in three decades. Early life Russo was born in New York City, New York, to an Italian father and German mother. A graduate of t ...

, Mark Harmon,

Julie Carmen Julie Carmen (born April 4, 1954) is an American actress, dancer and a licensed psychotherapist. She came to prominence onscreen in the 1980s, for her role in John Cassavetes' film, ''Gloria'' (1980), opposite Gena Rowlands. Acting Carmen was ...

, and

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

. Its plot follows a

lapsed Catholic A lapsed Catholic is a Catholic who is non-practicing. Such a person may still identify as a Catholic, and remains one according to canon law. Excommunication or an act of defection only separate a person from the sacraments. Nothing can terminate ...

woman whose husband inexplicably rises from the dead, profoundly challenging her beliefs. The screenplay, by Allan Scott, is based on the 1983 novel of the same name by

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

-Canadian writer Brian Moore. The film score was by

Stanley Myers Stanley Myers (6 October 19309 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor, who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski and Volker Schlöndorff. He is best known fo ...

Plot

Marie Davenport, a

, is having an affair with Dr. Daniel Corvin, unbeknownst to her husband, Dr. Alex Davenport, also a doctor. She intends to break the news to Alex while attending a medical conference with him in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. While swimming in a bay at Acapulco, Alex is struck by a passing motorboat. He is rushed to the hospital with a massive head laceration, but dies during emergency surgery. The following morning, Marie is notified by the hospital that, prior to Alex's scheduled autopsy, his body inexplicably disappeared. Meanwhile, Daniel learns of Alex's death, and breaks the news of his affair with Marie to his girlfriend, Anna, who is infuriated. Marie returns to her home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

while authorities attempt to locate Alex's body. Marie receives an anonymous message—which she presumes is from Daniel—asking her to travel to a hotel in

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

that she has stayed at before, where she first met Daniel. After visiting the local

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

, Marie returns to her hotel room, where she is shocked to find Alex, seemingly alive. Alex recounts his memory of that day, and his waking up in the hospital morgue. Exhausted, Alex falls asleep, and appears to be dead, but later returns to life as he wakes. A flummoxed Marie returns to the church and speaks with Monsignor Cassidy, to whom she recounts her

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

after her mother died when Marie was a teenager. She also tells him of a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

she had the year before while staying in Carmel-by-the-Sea: While walking along the ocean cliffs near the convent, she became fixated on two ponds below, and witnessed the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

emerge from the water, instructing her to inform a priest that a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

be rebuilt for the convent. Daniel arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea and meets Marie at the hotel. She explains that Alex has met her there and is apparently alive. Marie reluctantly tells Daniel she cannot be with him, as she still feels a profound connection to Alex. Daniel, though defeated, agrees to perform a medical examination of Alex. The two decide to bring Alex to a hospital in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

due to his declined physical state. Father Niles, a colleague of the Mosnignor, follows them, attempting to speak with Marie, but she denies him. When Daniel leaves for a brief work trip, Marie visits Alex in the hospital, but he reacts violently, vomiting blood. Marie is comforted by Father Niles, who trailed her to the hospital. In Father Niles's confidence, she confesses that she and Daniel orchestrated the boating accident, intending to kill Alex; she interprets Alex's return to life as God giving her a second chance. After Alex is released from the hospital, he and Marie spend the evening together, but he awakens in the middle of the night, thrashing violently, and his head wound begins inexplicably bleeding again. She phones Father Niles for help and returns to the convent in Carmel-by-the-Sea. There, Sister Martha, a young nun, prays on the cliffside where Marie had her vision the year before. A wind bursts across the cliffs, terrifying Marie, and a cross appears embedded in the cliffside. Meanwhile, Alex wakes alone at the hotel, his head wound miraculously healed. Marie returns to the hotel, where Daniel arrives moments later, pursuing her. In the hotel room, Marie is met by Alex. The two embrace, as a defeated Daniel departs. Meanwhile, Father Niles, sitting on the edge of the cliff, watches the sun set.

Cast

as Marie Davenport * Mark Harmon as Dr. Alex Davenport *

as Daniel Corvin *

as Anna Corvin *

as Tom Farrelly * Richard Bradford as Monsignor Cassidy *

Diana Douglas Diana Love Webster (née Dill; formerly Douglas and Darrid; January 22, 1923 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress who was known for her marriage to actor Kirk Douglas from 1943 until their divorce in 1951. She was the mother of Michael and ...

as Mother St. Agnes *

Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire ( née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress who played roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' films and Adrian Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''The Godfather Part II'' and ''Rocky'', Shir ...

as Sister Martha *

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...

as Father Niles *

Cástulo Guerra Cástulo Guerra (born August 24, 1945) is an Argentine actor who has appeared in several American films and television shows. He has appeared in the films ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995), ''The Mexican'' (2001) and '' The Purge: Anarchy'' (2014). ...

as Dr. DeMencos * Jeanette Miller as Sister Katarina *

Lenny Von Dohlen Lenny Von Dohlen Jr. (December 22, 1958 – July 5, 2022) was an American television, film, and stage actor. With a 40-year career that primarily featured work in independent films and guest appearances on numerous prominent series, he was prob ...

as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)

Release

Critical response

'' Time Out'' said that "Sadly, for all its technical brilliance and narrative assurance, the film's climactic scenes require an act of faith that no film-maker – Christian, agnostic or atheist – has any right to ask". Neil Sinyard in ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors'' described it as "disappointing... unusually dour and dry in its treatment of guilt and paranoia". Peter Rainer of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote that the film is "ponderous without having much weight; we keep expecting the story to fill out, to achieve a vision that matches Marie’s. But the big storm-tossed finale comes across like cut-rate De Mille. This is a “religious” movie without much religious feeling. Roeg manages to work up a queasy atmosphere of impending dread in the boating scenes and the scenes between Marie and another priest (Will Patton) who keys into her visions.

Home media

Scorpion Releasing released a limited edition

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

of the film on August 19, 2020.

References

External links

* *
Lawless, Andrew: "Doubt in the Novel – Brian Moore's ''Cold Heaven''", Three Monkeys Online
{{Brian Moore 1990s mystery thriller films 1991 films American mystery thriller films American supernatural thriller films American zombie films Films about Catholic nuns Films about Catholic priests Films about Catholicism Films about infidelity Films based on novels by Brian Moore Films directed by Nicolas Roeg Films scored by Stanley Myers Films set in California Films set in Mexico Films shot in Mexico Marian apparitions in film 1990s English-language films 1990s American films