Spoilers!!!
What words come to mind after watching THE CONFESSIONAL? How about dour, sour, dreary, miserable, trashy, silly. Did I say dour? Watching THE CONFESSIONAL is as exciting as going to the doctor's office. It's miserably serious and silly at the same time. The mood of the film is fatalistic, very anti-Catholic and pessimistic, and yet the conveniently contrived plot twists in the script are constructed in such a way that one can't help but giggle at the silliness of it all, which clashes with the super seriousness of Walker's direction. The funniest parts are with the good Priest and his love affair with perpetually ditzy looking Stephanie Beacham. This trashy and useless plotline is just there to make fun of Catholic priests' oath of celibacy. It has very little to do with the main story and even when the good priest finds Beacham dead at the evil priest's home, he seems to be totally indifferent with the fact that the woman he was in love with and was about to leave the church for has been strangled to death. Seeing the dead Stephanie with her eyes bulging and tongue sticking out, tucked away in the background while the two priests talked made for some unintentional "Monty Pythonesque" moments. The script is filled with such silly moments that could have looked even more funny hadn't the direction been so dour and serious. Every single character in the movie deserved a miserable and painful death because they were so freaking stupid.
Critics complain that Dario Argento's movies are all flash and no substance. Well, at least his movie are great to look at (his earlier movies though). THE CONFESSIONAL wants to be a giallo of sorts but its uninspired direction and zero style make it a chore to sit through. This is my first Pete Walker movie and if THE CONFESSIONAL is one of his best films, well, I actually don't want to see another movie of his.
What words come to mind after watching THE CONFESSIONAL? How about dour, sour, dreary, miserable, trashy, silly. Did I say dour? Watching THE CONFESSIONAL is as exciting as going to the doctor's office. It's miserably serious and silly at the same time. The mood of the film is fatalistic, very anti-Catholic and pessimistic, and yet the conveniently contrived plot twists in the script are constructed in such a way that one can't help but giggle at the silliness of it all, which clashes with the super seriousness of Walker's direction. The funniest parts are with the good Priest and his love affair with perpetually ditzy looking Stephanie Beacham. This trashy and useless plotline is just there to make fun of Catholic priests' oath of celibacy. It has very little to do with the main story and even when the good priest finds Beacham dead at the evil priest's home, he seems to be totally indifferent with the fact that the woman he was in love with and was about to leave the church for has been strangled to death. Seeing the dead Stephanie with her eyes bulging and tongue sticking out, tucked away in the background while the two priests talked made for some unintentional "Monty Pythonesque" moments. The script is filled with such silly moments that could have looked even more funny hadn't the direction been so dour and serious. Every single character in the movie deserved a miserable and painful death because they were so freaking stupid.
Critics complain that Dario Argento's movies are all flash and no substance. Well, at least his movie are great to look at (his earlier movies though). THE CONFESSIONAL wants to be a giallo of sorts but its uninspired direction and zero style make it a chore to sit through. This is my first Pete Walker movie and if THE CONFESSIONAL is one of his best films, well, I actually don't want to see another movie of his.