A homosexual Catholic priest finds out during confessional that a young girl is being sexually abused by her father, and has to decide how to deal with both that secret and his own.
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Title: Priest (1994)
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4 wins & 3 nominations.
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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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
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>
Taglines:
One man is about to challenge two thousand years of tradition. See more »Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for depiction of mature themes involving sexuality | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
24 March 1995 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Actos privados See more »Edit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$4,176,932Company Credits
Production Co:
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Miramax, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment See more »
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Director Antonia Bird was forced to cut a whole scene of Linus Roache's bare behind to ensure only an R rating in the USA, instead of a notorious NC-17. See more »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. See more »Quotes
Father Matthew Thomas: The creation of mankind only started on the sixth day. It hasn't stopped yet. We're taller than we were a thousand years ago. We're fitter, faster. We live longer. We're better educated. More informed. So, creation... is an ongoing process. And if you interfere with it with it, aren't you spitting in the face of God? If you exploit your work force, don't you spit in the face of God? If you kill and maim, throw people out of their homes, turn your back on the elderly, If you shut down schools ...See more »
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A young handsome Catholic priest Father 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.