|
"Lack
of Faith in 'Stigmata'"
by Scott Mantz
"Stigmata"
Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne
Directed by Rupert Wainwright
No matter how
great special effects are or how unique a directing style is, a
bad script is still a bad script. "Godzilla" and "Wild Wild West"
tried the "style-over-substance" approach, but in the end they were
bad stories with ridiculous dialogue. On the other hand, there's
"The Sixth Sense" and "The Blair Witch Project", which had good
stories and genuine thrills with hardly any special effects at all.
Make way for "Stigmata". While it does try its hand at thrills and
suspense, the result is an uneventful and silly farce.
Frankie Paige
(Patricia Arquette) is a Pittsburgh hairstylist who likes the nightlife
and loves to boogie. She gets a present from her mother in the form
of a cross that belonged to a dead priest. Suddenly, she starts
to display marks of stigmata--wounds on the body resembling those
of Christ. When they start to get media attention, hunky Father
Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne ) is dispatched by the Vatican to
investigate. Their faith (or lack thereof) is tested as the stigmata
symptoms get worse.
We haven't had
a good "Exorcist"-style demonic-possession film since, well, "The
Exorcist". While "Stigmata" tries to fit the bill, too much time
is spent making it look like a "Nine Inch Nails-meets-Madonna" video
rather than giving the story a new twist. Director Rupert Wainwright
must have felt that shots of dripping blood and fluttering doves
would give the film a unique look, which it does have. However,
one scene after another of the violent possession gets redundant
and tiring. When the film isn't filled with hyper-kinetic imagery,
the characters are reduced to talking heads, at which point you
can take a nap and not miss a thing.
There are some
missed opportunities here. Storylines that could have added some
much needed depth and tension are dropped without ever getting a
chance to blossom. After Frankie receives the cross from her mother,
she fears she may be pregnant. As it turns out, she's not. Oh, well.
Also, when Frankie, a self-professed atheist, shows signs of the
stigmata, she never questions her faith or shows any signs of personal
growth.
With what she
is given, Patricia Arquette puts in a decent performance. It's some
of the other characters that drag the film down. Jonathan Pryce
is Cardinal Daniel Houseman, who sends Father Kiernan out to investigate
these signs from God. When the stigmata shows itself to be real,
he suddenly calls off the investigation. Why? If this is really
some sign from Jesus, doesn't he want to know for sure? Also, they
make him out to be so evil, which doesn't make any sense. I may
not be current with my religious studies, but if Jesus was coming
back, wouldn't that be a good thing? Furthermore, if he was so peaceful,
why does his possession of Frankie have to be so painful (to watch,
that is!)?
Wainwright seems
to go more for shock value than telling a good story. What we're
left with is a film that ultimately doesn't go anywhere, and it
makes you wonder what possessed you to see it in the first place.
|
