By the Grace of God

A cleverly put together foray into this most highly sensitive of subjects tells three different, though conjoining, stories about men who were all abused by the same priest in their childhood. The film is as much about the ways in which they (and their families) have/have not reconciled themselves to this most heinous of behaviour by someone trusted by all, as it is about their subsequent pursuit of this man, and of the broader church in order to stop this happening again. It's told in quite a sober fashion - but that does rob it of some of the more essential emotions and can leave it feeling just a little too "dry". It is also far too long - the style in which François Ozon chooses to relate these stories allows for more development of the individual characters but at the expense of any real punch.