Priest

Priest One man torn between keeping the faith and exposing the truth! "Critics everywhere have declared Priest to be a great film! The deeply held religious convictions of an idealistic young priest are challenged when he must face extraordinary events within his own congregation. Soon, he is forced to make the impossible choice between keeping the faith and exposing the truth! A gripping and powerful story - see this unforgettable big-screen hit for yourself!" - DVD ""Priest" was always bound to court controversy, being about a homosexual Catholic priest, and garnered a lot of unfair negative publicity as a result. This is a real shame, because "Priest" is a magnificent film that covers a lot of ground emotionally. The fact that the lead character happens to be a priest is (for me at least) secondary to the main point of the film. The real core of what this film is about is love (or the lack of it) and personal relationships. Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache) has to struggle with his own conflicting emotions about being gay AND being a priest, whilst dealing with the day-to-day reality of what his 'job' as a priest entails. And when he is confronted with the awful situation of a young girl who reveals to him that she is being sexually abused by her father, his faith is shaken to it's core. Pilkington (although bound by the confidentiality of the confessional), attempts to confront the father, who sneers in his face and flatly refuses to accept that his actions are wrong. With a deep feeling of powerlessness against such an evil, coupled with his denial of his own love for his partner (played brilliantly by Robert Carlyle), Father Pilkington finds himself in turmoil. Things are brought to a head when he is caught 'in flagrante' with his lover by the police, leading to consternation within his parish, and his (temporary) removal from the church whilst he does his penance. But the friendship and support of another priest, Father Thomas (Tom Wilkinson, also of Full Monty fame) brings him back from the brink. Only Father Thomas' ability to challenge his own narrow-mindedness by accepting Pilkington's homosexuality (and hence realising his ultimately good and loving nature), is able to pull Pilkington back from turning away from the priesthood completely. Although at times harrowing and serious, "Priest" also has some great moments that are brilliantly funny, like when Pilkington asks a stone-faced woman with a neck-brace if she has hurt her neck, to which she replies "No, I'm a dedicated follower of fashion." Also, Tony Booth (Tony Blair's father-in-law!) makes a hilarious (albeit serious) cameo as he angrily objects to Pilkington's reinstatement, and shouts "No! This is NOT ON! Have you got Jeremy Beadle stashed somewhere or what?" The scenes where Pilkington is together with his partner (Carlyle) are both sensual and exhilarating, and do not flinch from portraying their homosexual relationship as erotically and candidly as should be done a lot more in modern day cinema. Another excellent touch is the use of location-specific music. Set in Liverpool, an amazing rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' brings the film to an emotional and powerful climax. In fact, the lyrics of that song express succinctly what this film is all about. Maybe not for the narrow-minded, "Priest" is no more of an insult to Catholic people as is the price of cheese. If anything, it seeks only to challenge those who run and use the Church for their own ends, at the expense of those who seek to serve the People. Ultimately, this film is a hopeful message that, despite differences of lifestyle, opinions, and beliefs, people may live together in happiness through friendship, love and understanding. " - Amazon 1994 Written by Jimmy McGovern Directed by Antonia Bird Cast Linus Roache Father Greg Pilkington Tom Wilkinson Father Matthew Thomas Robert Carlyle Graham Cathy Tyson Maria Kerrigan Lesley Sharp Mrs Unsworth Robert Pugh Mr Unsworth James Ellis Father Ellerton Christine Tremarco Lisa Unsworth Paul Barber Charlie Rio Fanning Bishop Jim R Coleman Funeral director Bill Dean Altar boy Gilly Coman Ellie Molloy Fred Pearson Patrick Jimmy Gallagher Mick Molloy http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110889/

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 Kuthumi (2009-12-09)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110889/