Review of Created Equal (2017) by Chris M — 06 Jul 2018

The ordination of women has long been a touchy subject, both among Catholics and within the hierarchy of the church itself. Despite poll numbers in the 60s showing that American Catholics favor the idea of female priests, Pope Francis, like his predecessors, has unequivocally dismissed idea, stating several times "the door is closed" on the question.

So, given papal intransigence, what recourse does a devout young nun like Alejandra Batista (Edy Ganem), who is intent on being admitted to a New Orleans seminary, possess? What can she possibly do? ... Easy. This is America, where anyone or anything can be sued. And so she does-enlisting a bright, upstart attorney Tommy Reilly (Aaron Tveit) to take on the arch diocese in a gender discrimination lawsuit. One wonders why such an obviously compelling movie premise was not thought of sooner.

The film does an excellent job of pitting the fervor of Batista and Reilly against the cardinal and monsignor at the arch diocese, the senior partners in Reilly's firm, even Bautista's fellow nuns and priests at the parish where she serves, all of whom to varying degrees of intensely oppose her aspirations, the lawsuit and the city-wide publicity and divisions it has engendered. It seems the entire city of New Orleans is breathlessly following every twist and turn.

The plot fires are further stoked and suspense heightened when a deranged seminary reject Vick Vargas (Spence Maughon) takes note of Batista and the controversy and begins to stalk her, intent on committing serious bodily harm. Near the end, there's a bloody confrontation between Vargas and Reilly.

After all the exchanges and filings early on, the movie settles into a taut, compelling courtroom drama in which Lou Diamond Phillips delivers a measured performance as Monsignor Renzuilli, the cleric charged with defending the diocese and the church's age-old prohibition. Throughout the proceedings, the film succeeds in not taking sides, as the attorney's ably argue their respective viewpoints and the audience is treated to a full fleshing out of these complexities. Precisely the right balance is struck.

Viewers who watch Judge Watford (Gregory Alan Williams) closely, particularly in the trial's early stages, might get a hint or two about how the eventual ruling will go. Since "Created Equal" was made, the pope hasn't changed his view on the ordination of women but has warmly embraced a new notion of women as deacons, a role that seems to empower females with all the duties and responsibilities of the priesthood, lacking only the title. One wonders if Alejandra Batista might have settled for that.