Review of Into Temptation (2009) by Matthew M — 04 Nov 2009

I am so glad I sought this film out ... made a run up to the Dundee to catch it before it leaves town. Apparently the film came out of the Minneapolis indie scene. It's gonna make my top films for the year for sure!

A young priest receives a confession from a prostitute about a future sin she will commit ... she plans to commit suicide on her birthday. She leaves the confessional quickly and the priest is unable to track her down.

The film deals with many issues I'm intrigued by ... the young priest truly is acting in Christ-like fashion as he tries to find out who this young woman is and how to locate her. In the process he puts himself in some seedy places among some equally questionable characters. One of his parishoners sees him while riding the bus and reports him to the Bishop. People seem to forget who Jesus hung out with back in the day? Jesus was denigrated because of the people he hung out with as well, so it's unfortunate to be reminded how little has changed in some ways. Let's also remember that Jesus seemed to chastise the admitted believers of his time more than any other group.

I also love the film because it paints the priests in a very human light ... quite refreshing b/c you do not get that from Hollywood films generally. We learn about their lives and struggles and how they live with the choice to be a priest concerning the things they "gave up". They have struggles of their own.

There's a moment in the young priest's sermon where he is sharing his struggles and his humanity with the parishoners ... they look at him incredulously, yet blankly. As one of my wise friends likes to say "rigorous honesty scares the hell out of people" and that was the first thought that popped into my mind during this scene. Pretension never solves anything imho.

Kristin Chenowith does a great job portraying the prostitute and Jeremy Sisto plays the younger priest Father John.

For my counseling/clinician friends ... the film also touches on issues of personal ethics and boundaries. How far people are willing to go to help ... how you can't necessarily force someone to help themselves.

I believe this movie just came out on DVD. It's still showing at The Dundee if you're like me and much rather would see movies on the big screen. If you don't mind smaller indie films and it sounds intriguing, I highly recommend it!