Thursday, 15 August 2013

Temptation waits

The Monk (2011)

Directed by Dominik Moll this film based on the novel of the same name stars Vincent Cassel, Deborah Francois and Josephine Japy. In 17th century Spain a monk that is a famous preacher faces the same temptations he chastises his flock against.

There is plenty of mileage to be had in any piece that looks at the hypocrisy of the Catholic church, especially it's recent indiscretions but I am not sure this film ever goes far enough in this direction. There are some changes from the original novel but the film mostly sticks to the plot, which I found a little predictable, and does a good job of showing the fears and religious views of the time. The film has a nice creepy undertone nearly all the way through but I'm not sure it ever completely capitalises on the dark, Gothic nature of the story.


3/5

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