Conspiracy of Silence (2003)

A can of worms is opened within the Irish Catholic Church following two controversial incidents, the suicide of Frank Sweeney, a parish priest and the expulsion of Daniel McLaughlin, a ... See full summary »

Director:

John Deery

Writer:

John Deery

Stars:

Jonathan Forbes, Brenda Fricker, Niall O'Brien

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Forbes	...	Daniel McLaughlin
Brenda Fricker	...	Annie McLaughlin
Niall O'Brien	...	John McLaughlin
Catherine Cusack	...	Mary McLaughlin
Elaine Symons	...	Marie McLaughlin
Tommy Carey	...	Sean McLaughlin
Paudge Behan	...	Niall McLaughlin
Jason Barry	...	David Foley
Olivia Caffrey	...	Liz Foley
Anna Rose Fullen	...	Martha Foley
Hugh Bonneville	...	Father Dowling
John Lynch	...	Father Francis
Jim Norton	...	Bishop Quinn
Sean McGinley	...	Rector Cathal
Harry Towb	...	Father Doherty

Storyline

A can of worms is opened within the Irish Catholic Church following two controversial incidents, the suicide of Frank Sweeney, a parish priest and the expulsion of Daniel McLaughlin, a young trainee priest from a nearby seminary, on the grounds that he was open to the sexual advances of a male colleague. A local journalist, David Foley, is convinced that Sweeney's death and Daniel's expulsion are linked. Desperate to clear his good name and be re-instated, Daniel agrees to talk to Foley. As the story gathers momentum, the Church closes ranks.

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Plot Keywords:

expulsion | church | priests | irish | suicide | 

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Taglines:

Sex. Lies. Murder. All In The Name Of God.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2006 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Conspiration Du Silence

Filming Locations:

Callington, Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,598, 5 December 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,598, 5 December 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Little Wing Films, Flick Features, Mogirl Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As of July 2013, the final film role for Padraig O'Loinsigh (as Patrick Lynch), who portrays Father Sweeney.

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Quotes

Father Sweeney: The church has AIDS!

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Soundtracks

All I Want Is You
Written by Bono ( as Hewson), Adam Clayton (as Clayton),The Edge (as Evans), Larry Mullen Jr. (as Mullen)
Used by permission of Blue Mountain Music Ltd/Rykomusic Ltd
Performed by Bellefire
Licensed by courtesy of Virgin Records Limited

User Reviews

church cover-ups

In the last decade or two a lot of news has come out about the Catholic Church's cover-up of pedophilia. John Deery's "Conspiracy of Silence" isn't about that but about something similar: the church's policy of celibacy. In this case, the suicide of a gay priest living with HIV and the expulsion of some students suspected of a same-sex relationship prompt an article questioning the rightness of the church's celibacy policy.

It seems very likely that forcing priests to be celibate increases the risk of the priests' molesting children. Relationships are natural among all species, and not letting people be in relationships can only damage them. This is not to be confused with pedophilia, which is a disease. But either way, the Catholic Church has had a history of suppressing all news of the molestations, as well as a history of homophobia.

"Conspiracy of Silence" isn't a great movie but does a good job looking at these different topics. It's all the more impressive considering that the director was a first timer. I recommend it.