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Storyline
Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache) is torn between his call as a conservative Catholic priest and his secret life as a homosexual with a gay lover, frowned upon by the Church. Upon hearing the confession of a young girl of her incestuous father, Greg enters an intensely emotional spiritual struggle deciding between choosing morals over religion and one life over another. Written by
Eric Chor <spiritcircle@yahoo.com>
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Taglines:
In a world of rituals, in a place of secrets, a man must choose between keeping the faith and exposing the truth.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The Catholic Church in Ireland were very vocal about their views in having the film banned from theatrical distribution. The film censor disagreed and the film was released with an 18 certificate. This marked a major turning point in the relationship between the church and the Irish Film Censor board.
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Goofs
Father Greg holds up a communion wafer which is smooth. The scene cuts to Graham and then back to Father Greg, and the wafer has a diagonal line across it.
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Quotes
Father Greg Pilkington:
And how would you feel if someone robbed your car?
Boy Car Thief:
I haven't got one.
Father Greg Pilkington:
Well, suppose you did.
Boy Car Thief:
I'd get a weed-on.
Father Greg Pilkington:
Exactly. I'd get a... weed-on too.
Boy Car Thief:
You haven't got a car.
Father Greg Pilkington:
Well, what about Father Matthew?
Boy Car Thief:
No one would wanna rob his car, would they?
Father Greg Pilkington:
Because he's a priest?
Boy Car Thief:
Because it's crap!
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Connections
Referenced in
Italian for Beginners (2000)
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Soundtracks
"HE AIN'T HEAVY HE'S MY BROTHER"
Composed by
Bob Russell &
Bobby Scott
Published by Harrison Music Corporation & Jenny Music
Administered by Chelsea Music Publishing Co. Ltd.
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A young handsome Catholic priest Fathrer Greg (Linus Roache) starts at a new parish in London. He butts heads with the older and more lenient Father Matthew (Tom Wilkinson) but they become friends. But Greg is gay and sneaks out to gay bars to meet men. He meets up with Graham (Robert Carlyle) and they fall in love--but Greg feels guilty about it. Also a young girl tells him in confession that her father is sexually using her--but he can't tell anybody. Slowly these two issues start to drive him crazy...
Excellent drama. This was attacked by the Catholic church (who didn't see it) as being anti-Catholic. Director Antonia Bird said she wasn't trying to blast the Catholic church--and she doesn't! She's pointing out some issues that the Catholic church has and should be dealt with. The church is not demonized--they show the good and the bad. The film is well-written--I never thought theological discussions could be interesting but they are! Also they don't pull back--there is some extreme anti-gay language but it is needed for the story. The sex scenes between Carlyle and Roache are pretty tame though--especially in the American version where they're edited (stupid censors!).
The acting is superb. Carlyle is just excellent: Wilkinson was also good but Roache is just incredible. You see the pain in his face and feel his struggle trying to reconcile his faith with his orientation. The most powerful sequence comes when he breaks down in front of a cross begging God to help him.
I don't want to make it sound like this is all gloom and doom. There are some very funny moments mixed in too. The ending is sad but realistic (unfortunately). A powerful and moving film. A must-see. 10 all the way.