dir. Neil Jordan
writ. Neil Jordan (screenplay), Graham Greene (novel)
feat. Ralph Fiennes, Stephen Rea, Julianne Moore, Ian Hart
Jordan's film about love and faith creeps up on the viewer, its very English outward manner holding to a terse delivery through most scenes, punctuated with bursts of passion that reveal the hearts of the characters. It's deceptive in this way, its deliberate pacing trying one's patience, casting doubt on the film's worth or the hope for a satisfying story as vital revelations, keys to questionable motives, are withheld for a painfully long time before being released powerfully and cathartically.
Graham Greene has always toyed with faith and in this story (from his novel based on an actual affair of his own), it comes as an unwelcome intruder, challenging Bendrix's (Fiennes) atheism, a promise to God proving His power if not His existence. And though this conflict provides lofty philosophy (and wonderfully venomous narration,) it is the human details- Bendrix's insane jealousy, Henry's pathetic yet sympathetic dullness, Sarah's reluctant discovery of faith, Parkis's inevitable emotional involvement in Bendrix's life- that provide the undercurrent that sustains the film and leaves the viewer moved by each individual character.
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