Summary:
A secret Order has existed within the Church for centuries. Following a series
of unexplained murders, renegade priest Father Alex Bernier (Heath Ledger) begins an
investigation into the murder of his mentor which leads to a path of unimaginable evil, murder, and
the knowledge that there is a fate worse than death. Father Bernier's
investigation leads him to The Sin Eater, a key figure in this mysterious and ancient Order.
The Sin Eater's is an immortal, who plays God on earth by
absolving the unforgivable of their sins outside the Church, which lets greater
evil to go unpunished. As the young
priest uncovers the answers and pursues these paragons of evil, he fights to
save his own soul and that of troubled artist Mara, the woman he
loves.
Review:
Heath Ledger and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale) team up once again in
this thriller based on the unforgivable sins of the excommunicated. The
movie starts of a little sluggish and with the struggling to find an identity
cliché. Unfortunately after leaving the noisy streets of New York, the
movie finds no solace or redeeming qualities by journeying to the Vatican
City. Filled with idiosyncratic rituals, uneven computer-graphics (CG), and
very little comedic value, this film fails to capture any audience at the
box office.
Cinema audiences go to see movies for either an escape or entertainment.
With no humor (some mild sarcasm, but nothing like Dogma), no big
budget explosions (End of Days) and no captivating action scenes,
this movie attempts to garner audiences looking for an escape from their
everyday lives. To this extent the movie has a great premise, a good
cast, and lots of potential. But unfortunately this movie does a good job of
alienating movie-goers with weird rituals which aren't really necessary for
the film's progress. For instance, when Alex Bernier goes underground to a
goth dungeon to get answers surrounding the mysterious death of
his mentor. What he gets is the systematic hangings which spew powerful
truths. This is forgivable, but compiled with awkward special effects it
estranges box office patrons more than anything else.
Brian Helgeland known for his success with LA Confidential and the
flop The Postman, writes a screenplay which alienates audiences even
more than the Kevin Coster bomb, The Postman.
See this movie if you're a fan of:
Stigmata (1999)
Heath Ledger (Actor, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Four Feathers, A
Knights Tale)
Brian Helgeland (Screenwriter, A Knights Tale, LA Confidential, The
Postman)
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