''Monk Dawson'' is a film that was released in 1998, directed and produced by

Tom Waller Tom Waller (born 4 April 1974 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a film director, screenwriter, and producer. Waller founded the production company De Warrenne Pictures Ltd and secured funding for the film '' Monk Dawson'' (1998), his directorial debut, a s ...

and starring

John Michie John Michie (born 25 October 1956) is a Scottish television and film actor, known for his roles as DI Robbie Ross in the STV detective drama series '' Taggart'', as Karl Munro in ''Coronation Street'' from 2011–2013 and his role as CEO Guy ...

Benedict Taylor Benedict Sean Taylor (born 18 April 1960) is a British actor. Taylor was born in Hampstead, London, the eldest of six children of father, Richard, a documentary film maker, and Allegra, a writer. Taylor lived in Nigeria until 1965 and then wa ...

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also ...

Rhona Mitra Rhona is the name of: * Rhona Adair (1878–1961), British golf champion * Rhona Bennett (born 1976), American singer, actress and model * Rhona Brankin (born 1950), Labour Co-operative politician and Member of the Scottish Parliament * Rhona B ...

, and

Paula Hamilton Paula Hamilton (born 23 January 1960) is an English model. She is best known for her appearance in the 1987 Mk II Volkswagen Golf TV advert ''Changes''. In 2006, she returned to public recognition as a judge on ''Britain's Next Top Model'', for ...

. It was based on the 1969 novel of the same name written by

Piers Paul Read Piers Paul Read FRSL (born 7 March 1941) is a British novelist, historian and biographer. He was first noted in 1974 for a book of reportage, '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', later adapted as a feature film and a documentary. Read ...

. The film is about Eddie Dawson, a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

who has led a sheltered existence at a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, but when he is expelled from his order he has to learn to deal with the harsh realities of everyday life in 1970s London, finding work as a journalist. He falls in love with a beautiful widow then discovers she has been having an affair with his best friend. Eddie later marries a young girl who he first met whilst a priest in the parish, however he decides to return to live as a monk on a remote island. Despite being well received by

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...

s, the lack of a well-known cast led to a short box office run in the United Kingdom with a gross of just £7,210, and a straight to

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

release for the United States market. The film was chosen as the closer for the

Leeds International Film Festival The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in England outside London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire. In 2015, the festival welcomed over 40,000 visitor ...

, and in 1999 it was also nominated for Best Film at the UK Creative Freedom Awards. In Canada and the United States the film was re-released in 2004 as ''Passion of the Priest''.

References

External links

*
De Warrenne Pictures: ''Monk Dawson''FilmThreat.com: Monk Dawson
1998 films 1998 drama films British drama films Films based on British novels Films set in London Films set in the 1970s 1990s English-language films 1990s British films {{1990s-UK-film-stub