I first saw this film when I was a freshman in religion class at a Catholic High School, and the question posed to us: which of the three primary characters behaved the most Christian? It provoked a great deal of discussion even for relatively young students: staying in a comfort zone is not an excuse for failing to defend the persecuted.
The film revolves around a popular parish priest in an upscale American community, a monsignor who is political and defends the status quo, and a young deacon who is questioning the morals of men of faith who seem to live in their personal bubbles. It is perhaps a simplistic, predictable film, and the characters are somewhat stock and two-dimensional, but I think it is rare to see men of faith shown as being so human and yet realistic at the same time. Rather than contriving titanic challenges of faith that often come up in Hollywood films, this film centers on a very down to Earth problem that is easy to accept.
Suffice to say, it was my first Jack Lemmon film, and I made it a point to not make it my last.
The film revolves around a popular parish priest in an upscale American community, a monsignor who is political and defends the status quo, and a young deacon who is questioning the morals of men of faith who seem to live in their personal bubbles. It is perhaps a simplistic, predictable film, and the characters are somewhat stock and two-dimensional, but I think it is rare to see men of faith shown as being so human and yet realistic at the same time. Rather than contriving titanic challenges of faith that often come up in Hollywood films, this film centers on a very down to Earth problem that is easy to accept.
Suffice to say, it was my first Jack Lemmon film, and I made it a point to not make it my last.