Before my praises for The Rapture, first a scolding at New Line Cinema. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on you for marketing the home video of this very important film as if it were a soft-core sex romp. The original artwork for the film captured its essence very well (the soundtrack on CD has the original artwork), but the VHS video box cover on the front shows Mimi Rogers looking like she had the biggest...well, you know...sexual thrill of her life. The back cover shows a shirtless David Duchovny (but with a look on his face like a deer caught in the headlights). The cover says "exploring a woman's sexual and spiritual awakening." Excuse me, but Mimi Rogers' character seems to already be well educated in sex by revealing that she likes to swing with friend Patrick Bauchau. Sure, there is some sex in the first part of the film, but the story as a whole is 95% about the spiritual part. I'd love to yell at the person who got the job of marketing that cover and say how it really is an insult to people's intelligence in general. The Current DVD cover unfortunately makes it look like a religious family film...a big mistake. Should have kept the original artwork (again, see the soundtrack CD cover for that).
NOW, for the praise. The Rapture is one of those rare films that refuses to compromise and doesn't apologize if it offends one's religious beliefs. Mimi Rogers is a telephone operator with a very unremarkable life. Even her sexual experiences with her friend seem to be boring her. She eventually overhears co-workers talking about "The Boy" and she is intrigued by the secrecy surrounding him. She eventually gets involved with this religious group and as time passes, gets married, has a daughter, and continues her religious life. Then things get a bit....bizarre. It leads to a conclusion that may anger those who are devout and get a a lot of respect from those that feel there are many things we just shouldn't settle for in our existence.
I'm not an Academy Award nut, but the fact that Mimi Rogers was overlooked for a nomination is "sacrilege"...excuse me, but in reviewing something like this film some puns are inevitable! The one scene that most everyone I know refers to specifically is the one where Mimi confesses a crime to policeman Will Patton on the side of a road. Watching her emotional pain as she cries out how she can't love God anymore tears me up every time I see it, and it leaves you in a weakened state for the rest of the film. And the rest of the film will have you in a state of amazement right through to its fade. I was so impressed by the uncompromising conclusion and while some may feel that maybe Mimi didn't really win in the end, I feel she did. I too want to know why people think God solely has us here to worship, worship, worship -- at one point Mimi even asks co-workers "Isn't that a bit selfish?" While we don't get the answers we seek in this film, at least it challenges our minds and gets us talking. I can't recall any other film that has an effect to such an extent as The Rapture.
Whether you are very serious in your religious beliefs or are open to all sides of discussion, The Rapture will unnerve, exhilarate, and leave you truly touched in some way.
NOW, for the praise. The Rapture is one of those rare films that refuses to compromise and doesn't apologize if it offends one's religious beliefs. Mimi Rogers is a telephone operator with a very unremarkable life. Even her sexual experiences with her friend seem to be boring her. She eventually overhears co-workers talking about "The Boy" and she is intrigued by the secrecy surrounding him. She eventually gets involved with this religious group and as time passes, gets married, has a daughter, and continues her religious life. Then things get a bit....bizarre. It leads to a conclusion that may anger those who are devout and get a a lot of respect from those that feel there are many things we just shouldn't settle for in our existence.
I'm not an Academy Award nut, but the fact that Mimi Rogers was overlooked for a nomination is "sacrilege"...excuse me, but in reviewing something like this film some puns are inevitable! The one scene that most everyone I know refers to specifically is the one where Mimi confesses a crime to policeman Will Patton on the side of a road. Watching her emotional pain as she cries out how she can't love God anymore tears me up every time I see it, and it leaves you in a weakened state for the rest of the film. And the rest of the film will have you in a state of amazement right through to its fade. I was so impressed by the uncompromising conclusion and while some may feel that maybe Mimi didn't really win in the end, I feel she did. I too want to know why people think God solely has us here to worship, worship, worship -- at one point Mimi even asks co-workers "Isn't that a bit selfish?" While we don't get the answers we seek in this film, at least it challenges our minds and gets us talking. I can't recall any other film that has an effect to such an extent as The Rapture.
Whether you are very serious in your religious beliefs or are open to all sides of discussion, The Rapture will unnerve, exhilarate, and leave you truly touched in some way.