Stigmata

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2000 Howard Anderson

Synopsis

Frankie Page (Patricia Arquette) has absolutely no faith in God. All that changes when she suddenly begins to suffer the Stigmatá - the living wounds of the crucified Christ. Frankie's miraculous bleeding comes to the attention of the Vatican's top investigator, Father Kiernan Gabriel Byrne), a man who increasingly finds himself torn between his scientific knowledge and his cleric role. But when Cardinal Houseman (Jonathan Pryce) discover that Frankie is actually channeling a provocative and extraordinary message that could destroy the church, he's convinced that she - and the force possessing her - must be forever silenced. Determined to stop this deadly conspiracy, Kiernan risks his faith - and his life - to save her and the message that will change the destiny of mankind forever.

Review

"Stigmata" is a supernatural thriller delving heavily into the realm of the metaphysical. Its graphic assault of images is a visceral experience sure to leave no viewer unscathed. It's a story dealing with matters of faith and worship, and as such, severely questions the part in which the church now plays in our spiritual nurturing. These are all sizable subject matters, and this film does not tread lightly in its blatant attack on the Vatican. And I must say that it is long overdue for a film to emerge with enough nerve to challenge the dictatorial ways of worship imposed upon so many by what can only be called the Costa Nostra of faith - the Catholic church.

"Stigmata" is a film I found to be a rich amalgamation of horrific imagery, supernatural suspense, and religious controversy. I would say that this film is probably one of the best of its kind since "The Exorcist", only here we are given a richer background story and an even more potent "mythology" to go with it. It might not have the same fright factor as "The Exorcist", but then "Stigmata" is more of a suggestive and suspenseful work than a scary one. There are some that claim it to be an all-out rip-off of "The Exorcist." Statements like that leave me completely perplexed, and I'm not even gonna try to imagine the state of mind of those people while watching this film. Well, to Gehenna with them, I say. May they forever suffer on a plain of perpetual pain. Some, for example, have noted the levitation scene as an obvious plagiarism of William Friedkin's masterpiece. How on earth is that possible, I ask. In "Stigmata" the levitation sequence is presented in a completely different manner, and its purpose is of a completely different nature. Look at the scene for yourself, and then you tell me. It's not like William Friedkin has the patent on the act of cinematic levitation, is it?

Patricia Arquette gives us here her most intensely charged performance since "True Romance", and if you've seen that film and remember the confrontation between her and James Gandolfini in the motel room, then you'll know what I mean by "intense". I thought she gave off a very credible portrayal of someone suddenly finding herself in such a traumatic situation far beyond comprehension, and also she just fit the part of Frankie Paige - in both appearance and mannerisms - perfectly. As did Gabriel Byrne with the part of Father Andrew Kiernan. After seeing him play the opposite side of the spectrum in "End of Days", it was just great fun to see him as the saintly man here, which goes to show that there isn't a part he can't pull off. And all though his part, as opposed to Arquette's, is obviously much more restricted in regards to the emotional display of his character, that still didn't keep him from leaving a just as solid a mark on the film as her. Jonathan Pryce also did a terrific job as Cardinal Houseman, and despite him having a limited screen-time, he still conveyed wholeheartedly the detestable fear of change one so obviously sees in the preachings of the Catholic church.

I you haven't guess it by now, I'm all for a bit of controversy, and when that controversy deals with the dated ideals of an institution whose preachings are so dogmatic and absolute as the Catholic church's - preachings that all spring from a book whose writing can easily be interprited, twisted and turned in a houndred different ways from one line to the next - then I say go for it, and "Stigmata" does just that. And just for the record, I am not an atheist.

Image

The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is striking. This film has undergone a process referred to on the audio commentary track by director Rupert Wainwright as skip bleeching (in which the film has not been fully processed during development, thus leaving the silver on the negative) something that makes certain colors (red especially) stand out. This also gives the image a kind of sharply pale feel to it. The cinematography of Jeffrey L. Kimball is energetic, enigmatic and beautiful, and this transfer by MGM really does the film justice.

Sound

As with the bulk of recently released movies of this kind, the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix plays an important role. As everyone knows, the sound mix is what truly enables a film take on a life beyond the boundaries of the screen, and like "The Haunting" and "Stir of Echoes", "Stigmata" is another very effective entry in that department. The metallic clang of a hammer hitting a nail, the brutal sound of that nail being driven through flesh and entering wood. It is all delivered with startling power and ferocity. And there are several other instances of all-out sonic assaults sure to keep you on your toes thoughout, but the element that I found to be the most captivating is the drip, drip, dripping sound of water all around you. It's a part of the mix that is incredibly well done, and comes off as a nice additional touch on this very dynamic soundtrack. The music by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumkins is also excellent and packs a solid punch, and all though there is much here to keep the LFE channel busy, a great deal of the bass is still delivered directly from the front and rear surround speakers, so full-range speakers all-round is a definite advantage.

Features

This is a nice special edition from MGM. There's an informative and never boring audio commentary track by director Rupert Wainwright, an alternate ending that, due to seamless branching, can be chosen in the "play movie" section of the menu as a kind of director's cut, there are six deleted scenes in Dolby Digital 5.0, a nice music video by Natalie Imbruglia, and the original theatrical trailer. One thing, though. When using seamless branching to give the viewer the choice of an alternate ending infused into the movie itself, then please present that alternate ending in the same condition as the rest of the movie. As it plays here, the DVD suddenly switches from anamorphic to non-anamorphic, and from Dolby Digital 5.1 to Dolby Digital 5.0. Now, this is a great feature and I liked it a lot, but it would have been even better if they had gone all the way with it. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier with this DVD.

Overall Opinion

"Stigmata" is a film that may not appeal to everybody, but with a plot more intelligent than most, great pacing and amazing actors, I found it to be a suspenseful and well-crafted supernatural thriller. To me it also came off as a bit of a though-provoking experience, and, of course, when that also comes with a DVD as good looking as this, in both the feature presentation and bonus section, then I have serious trouble finding a downside to it.