Priest (1994)

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.

Director:

Antonia Bird

Writer:

Jimmy McGovern

Stars:

Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Robert Carlyle

4 wins & 3 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 | catholic priest | homosexual | sexual repression | liverpool england | 

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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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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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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 USA:

$4,176,932

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),Miramax,PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

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: 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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Alternate Versions

The US version has been cut by seven minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in 3rd Rock from the Sun: Frozen Dick (1996)

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Soundtracks

LET'S ALL JOIN TOGETHER
Written by Andy Ford
Published by Tabitha Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Moving and powerful

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.