Review of Stigmata (2009) by Anton H — 14 Sep 2010

Stigmata follows Frankie, an atheist who may be enjoying her self-destructive lifestyle a bit too much these days. Then there is Father Kiernan, a priest and a scientist (go figure), whose task is to seek out and investigate â??miracles,â?? from a stain that looks like the Virgin Mary, to a statue of said Virgin that weeps blood. Atheist Frankie suspiciously begins to suffer the stigmata, Father Kiernan is sent to investigate, and the plot takes off on a vibrant and stylish journey towards the nosedive-into-the-swamp-of-conventionalism ending.

There is a moment when Frankie Paige is talking to Father Andrew Kiernan in the outdoor section of a restaurant during lunch. They are surrounded by flowers, and they converse with smiling faces, sharing each otherâ??s drastically different stories and perspectives on religion. Of course, the moment takes a turn for the ridiculous, in one of many scenes where the Stigmata seems to be visually confused by Satanic possession. This is exactly what happens far too often in Stigmata. Potentially beautiful moments are interrupted by the slightly over-cooked and stylized scenes of â??religious terror,â?? the same types of which are shared by most other religion-based thrillers. Being flung midair around the room, whipped by unseen forces, inflicted by the wounds of Christ with gallons of blood, speaking in demonic voices, all this weâ??ve seen beforeâ?¦ many, many times. The horror-movie stylizations of unseen forces, angels, demons, seem to stain most â??O.K.â?? thrillers of this subgenre that might have actually had potential to be great films.

While Patricia Arquette makes a surprisingly vivid and emotional performance, Gabriel Byrne is simply brilliant as always. He proves himself to be one of the only actors capable of portraying a priest with true human desires, a Holy Man and a scientist, a Vatican worker who debunks miracles, a complete paradox of a typical priestâ??s on-screen character. In one scene, on his way walking to the Vatican, he gentlemanly rejects a trio of laughing prostitutes trying to win his charm, all with a big smile on his face. Apart from its performances and a fairly compelling story, the sometimes uncomfortably over-stylized film is saved by some incredible artistic visuals. The key signature aesthetic shot: Father Kiernan chases after Frankie through a dark midnight alley, surrounded by demonic voices, when the camera flies in circles around him as an ominous light shines down on his face and newspapers flap about curiously like doves.

One of the most intriguing things about Stigmata is the fact that an *atheist* is being inflicted by the wounds of Christ, rather than a Holy person. This idea is no-doubt going to offend some, but it nevertheless shares the concept that God does not dwell on rank or level of devotion, the same theme shown in â??Oh, God!â?? as well as the story of Moses. The reason for her affliction, however, is a fairly clever tie-in to the Gospel of Thomas, a work supposedly written by Jesus himself, in his own words.

In the end, Stigmata is okay, good, not quite great. Even though the storyâ??in all its touchy subject matterâ??is entirely fictional (and hilariously inaccurate at times to those with a familiarity on the subject), this is a decent film to see for all religious folk and atheists alike. The film is surprisingly enjoyed by religion teachers, and for good reason: Much like other religion-based fictionalizations of past or present events (namely The Last Temptation of Christ, The Exorcist, The Da Vinci Code), Stigmata broadens oneâ??s perspective of their faith, rather than try to alter or diminish it. The film is a breath of fresh air in this sense, because it makes no effort to argue that itâ??s just a movie. As opposed to some other films that are mere single-vision closed-minded depictions full of self-love with little room for interpretation (sorry, Mel), Stigmata simply offers an interesting story and a new perspective on the concept of miracles, as well as the source from which they come.