Priest (1994)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Antonia Bird

Writer:

Jimmy McGovern

Stars:

Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Robert Carlyle

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linus Roache	...	Father Greg Pilkington
Tom Wilkinson	...	Father Matthew Thomas
Robert Carlyle	...	Graham
Cathy Tyson	...	Maria Kerrigan
Lesley Sharp	...	Mrs. Unsworth
Robert Pugh	...	Mr. Unsworth
James Ellis	...	Father Ellerton
Christine Tremarco	...	Lisa Unsworth
Paul Barber	...	Charlie
Rio Fanning	...	Bishop
Jim R. Coleman	...	Funeral director
Bill Dean	...	Altar boy
Gilly Coman	...	Ellie Molloy
Fred Pearson	...	Patrick
Jimmy Gallagher	...	Mick Molloy

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.

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Plot Keywords:

church | priest | love | girl | religion | 

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Taglines:

One man is about to challenge two thousand years of tradition.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for depiction of mature themes involving sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Actos privados

Filming Locations:

Blundellsands, Merseyside, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$4,176,932 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Electric Pictures, Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights were so outraged by the film's subject and its release date over the Easter weekend that they called for all their members to boycott anything Disney-related.

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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: They used to ask us a question when we were in seminary: a man comes up to you in confession and tells you that he's poisoned the altar wine. Do you go out and say Mass? I had no problem with it; I'd go out and drink the wine. I suppose there's a little of the martyr in all of us.

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Connections

Referenced in Italian for Beginners (2000)

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Soundtracks

"GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME"
Composed by Curly Putman
Performed by Tom Wilkinson
Copyright Tree International
by kind permission of Burlington Music Co. Ltd./Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Very intelligent and beautiful piece of film making

Priest, by Antonia Bird, is very beautiful and also provocative film about faith, church, forgiveness and tolerance, which all have as many shapes as there are human beings. The film tells the story of a priest who arrives to new town and soon he notices some things he don't consider too acceptable, and learns also that incredible and selfish evil lives inside every human being, including himself.

The film is a powerful study about religion and many ways to interpret and obey its orders. How can a priest do his "good" job as he is rotten and evil inside and there is always the chance of Sin lurking somewhere? The main point is that no human is purely good and without any flaws and everyone sins, priests too. The purification can be reach only by forgiving and being tolerant and loving towards others, and thus the peace of mind and happiness may be reached: trying to be as good as human being can. Forgiveness and love are the most important things and the film ends in extremely beautiful scene at the church, as at least one little person forgives the priest for his "crimes" and sees into the heart and soul of the priest. We cannot judge someone for something because there are no sinless people in the world. The narrow-mindedness is one problem the film deals with, and it is sad to see that these things take place in real life, too. The film is very deep and beautiful and also funny and it unfolds more and more with each viewing time. This should be seen by persons who "cannot forgive" someone for something he/she has done. What is the benefit people think they get by not forgiving someone and hating someone? As I mentioned, the power of love, forgiveness, and tolerance are the main themes of the film so there are no people in the world, who this film cannot be recommended. This is like Abel Ferrara's and his screenwriter's work, but not as fierce and relentless as their work. Priest is a little more restrained and "easier for everyone to watch" version of the themes of Ferrara and St. John.

Remarkable, beautiful, touching and forces the viewer to think. 9/10 masterpiece.