''Priest'' is a 1994 British
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Antonia Bird
Antonia Jane Bird, FRSA (27 May 1951 – 24 October 2013Kate Hardi"Antonia Bird obituary" ''The Guardian'', 28 October 2013) was an English producer and director of television drama and feature films.
Career
In 1968, at the age of 17, Bird ...
. The screenplay by
Jimmy McGovern
James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...
concerns a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
priest (
Linus Roache
Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor. He is known for playing Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas ''Law & Order'' (2008–2010) and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). More recently, Roach ...
) as he struggles with two difficulties that precipitate a crisis of faith. The film's release was controversial and received condemnation from the Church.
Plot
Father Greg Pilkington, newly assigned to St Mary's parish in inner-city
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, is startled to discover Father Matthew Thomas is engaged in a sexual relationship with rectory housekeeper Maria Kerrigan. Moreover, Father Thomas is a
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
radical and an outspoken proponent of
Liberation Theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...
, leading him to constant clashes and bickering with the Bishop—who nevertheless appreciates his abilities.
While the young protagonist's personal traditional conservatism and religious beliefs are offended by the older priest's blatant disregard for his vow of
celibacy
Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...
, he struggles with his own homosexual urges, especially after he meets a man named Graham at a local gay hangout and the two embark on a physical relationship.
Meanwhile, student Lisa Unsworth has confided she is being
sexually abused
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
by her father, who confirms her story and displays no guilt nor any desire to stop. Both have revealed their secret in the
confessional
A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...
, however, so Father Greg is required to honour the sanctity of the
Sacrament of Penance
The Sacrament of Penance (also commonly called the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession) is one of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (known in Eastern Christianity as sacred mysteries), in which ...
and not reveal what he has been told. He tries to warn her mother to keep a close watch on her, but the naive woman believes her daughter is safe while in the care of her husband.
When Mrs. Unsworth discovers her husband molesting Lisa and realises the priest knew what was happening, she lashes out at him. Adding to his torment is his arrest for having sex with Graham in a parked car. He pleads guilty to the charge, and the fact that he is a Catholic priest makes for a sensational news item. The story is headlined on the front page of the local newspaper and, unable to face his parishioners, Father Greg relocates to a remote rural parish headed by a disapproving and unforgiving priest. Father Matthew persuades him to return to St Mary's, and the two preside over a
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
that is disrupted by the loud protests of people opposed to Father Greg's presence at the altar. Father Matthew demands they leave the church. The two priests then begin to distribute the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, but the remaining parishioners ignore Father Greg and line up to receive communion from Father Matthew. Lisa finally approaches the younger priest, and the two fall into each other's arms, sobbing.
Cast
*
Linus Roache
Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor. He is known for playing Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas ''Law & Order'' (2008–2010) and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). More recently, Roach ...
as Father Greg Pilkington
*
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...
as Father Matthew Thomas
*
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
as Graham
*
Cathy Tyson
Catherine Tyson (born 12 June 1965) is an English actress. She won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), which also earned her Best Supporting Actress no ...
as Maria Kerrigan
*
Christine Tremarco
Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...
as Lisa Unsworth
*
Robert Pugh
Robert Pugh (born 11 October 1950) is a Welsh actor, known for his many television appearances, including the role of Craster in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''.
Life and career
Pugh was born in the Tynte, Mountain Ash and grew up in Cilfy ...
as Mr. Unsworth
*
Lesley Sharp
Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actres ...
as Mrs. Unsworth
Production
The film was shot on location in
Blundellsands
Blundellsands is an area of Crosby in the ceremonial county of Merseyside, England and in the historic county of Lancashire. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, and a Sefton council electoral ward. At the 2001 Census the populati ...
, Liverpool, London, and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
Release
''Priest'' premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
in September 1994 and was one of the most talked about films.
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
acquired the US distribution rights for $1.75 million and spent a further $500,000 on prints and advertising. The film received very vocal condemnation from the Church, with the
Catholic Church in Ireland
, native_name_lang = ga
, image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
, abbreviation =
, type ...
in particular calling for a ban on theatrical distribution. This marked the first major disagreement between the Church and the
Irish Film Censor Board
The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) ( ga, Oifig Aicmithe Scannán na hÉireann, OASÉ) is the organisation responsible for films, television programmes, and some video game classification and censorship within Ireland. Where restrictio ...
, which decided to release it anyway. It went into general release in the UK on 17 March 1995 and into limited release on 8 screens in the US the following week. Catholic organizations in the United States, including the
Catholic League and the
American Life League
American Life League, Inc. (ALL) is an American Catholic activist organization which opposes abortion, all forms of contraception, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia. Its current president is co-founder Judie Brown and its headquarters i ...
, were in an uproar over its planned nationwide release by Miramax during Easter weekend, calling the film "smut," "blasphemous" and "sacrilegious"; staged a national boycott over Miramax parent,
Walt Disney Studios; demanded that the film be withdrawn and called for Disney president
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
to be fired.
Exhibitors in New Jersey received threats, including bomb threats, warning against screening the film.
Reception
Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gave the film a 64% approval rating based on 25 critical responses, with an average rating of 7/10.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' rated the film one star out of a possible four, calling the screenplay "shallow and exploitative." He added, "The movie argues that the hidebound and outdated rules of the church are responsible for some people (priests) not having sex although they should, while others (incestuous parents) can keep on having it although they shouldn't. For this movie to be described as a moral statement about anything other than the filmmaker's prejudices is beyond belief."
Peter Stack of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' called it "an exceptional movie," "powerful drama," and "a curiously inspiring statement about faith and morality." He added, "This film is extraordinary for the themes it explores—sometimes with delicious humor—beyond the obvious... The movie becomes a fascinating glimpse at a vast subject—intolerance vs. understanding. There's some preachiness in ''Priest'', and yet you go away feeling the embrace of something lovely and spiritual."
Gary Kamiya of ''
The San Francisco Examiner
The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863.
Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...
'' observed, "After watching this film, you feel as if
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
had hammered every one of his 95 theses onto various parts of your anatomy, using dull thumbtacks. And although ''Priest'' is not without intelligence, humor and pathos, in the end it's little more than a tendentious
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
. One can sympathize with
tsprogressive politics... and still feel that director Antonia Bird and screenwriter Jimmy McGovern have made things much too easy for themselves... ''Priest'' is less a work of art than an
Op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
piece; as such, whatever virtues it has exist in the sociological sphere, not the aesthetic."
Rita Kempley of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said, "Part soap opera and part propaganda, this sometimes affecting drama presents a one-sided examination of the church's teachings on homosexuality and the celibacy of its clergy... Roache, a veteran of British stage and television, gives a stirring performance, which crests in the film's transcendent finale. Beautifully sustained by the actors and well directed by Bird, this last scene is an emotional epiphany for both the characters and the audience, all bathed in the balm of forgiveness."
Box office
Opening on eight screens in the United States, it grossed $113,430 on its opening weekend, and eventually grossed $4,165,845 in the US and Canada.
Accolades
The film was nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best British Film
The BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 1st British Academy Film Awards, first recognising the ...
but lost to ''
Shallow Grave Shallow Grave may refer to:
* ''Shallow Grave'' (1987 film), an American slasher film
* ''Shallow Grave'' (1994 film), a British thriller film directed by Danny Boyle
* ''Shallow Grave'' (album), a 2008 album by The Tallest Man on Earth
{{disa ...
''. It won the People's Choice Award at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival, was named Best New British Feature at the 1994
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
, and won the
Teddy Award
The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay a ...
at the 1995
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
.
References
External links
*
{{TIFF People's Choice Award
1994 films
British drama films
1994 drama films
Films about Catholic priests
British LGBT-related films
LGBT culture in Liverpool
Films about LGBT and Christianity
Films about sexual repression
Films directed by Antonia Bird
Films critical of the Catholic Church
Gay-related films
BBC Film films
Incest in film
Films shot in England
LGBT-related drama films
1994 LGBT-related films
1995 drama films
1995 films
Disney controversies
LGBT-related controversies in film
Religious controversies in film
Religious controversies in the United States
Films shot in Greater Manchester
1990s English-language films
1990s British films
Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners