Movie rating: 2 and half Star

The Monk

2862

The big twist/reveal at the end of this 16th century drama could have been a shocker, but the air was let out sometime before that by some weary storytelling. It didn't start out like that, though. In his first film since 2005's Lemming, director Dominik Moll set things up nicely in the very first scene: in a confession box that's bathe in shadow, Brother Ambrosio (Cassel) hears the confession of a man who is having incest with his niece. Sexual taboo and depravity are going to touch this pious man before the close.

Ambrosio was an orphan who was left at the steps of a Capucin monastery outside Madrid some thirty years ago; growing up inside its high walls, Ambrosio's strong belief becomes near legend: "His faith is so alive it makes my heart dizzy," says Antonia (Japy) who, like many others, come to hear him speak. However, the reason Ambrosio's faith is so alive is because it has never been really tested and that all changes when a teenage boy, masked after his face is almost burned off in a fire that claimed his family, comes to join the monastery…

Watch: The Monk

The Monk never gets out of second gear; always threatening to take off, Moll's steady pace ensures the film is never let off the reins. The plot machinations don't gel: Ambrosio's crippling headaches, his birthmark that some monks believe is the hand of the devil, the talk of possession in the nearby hamlet - Moll fails to pull all these elements from Mathew Lewis' novel and make them click. Ambrosio's fall slow from grace doesn't garner pity in the audience because the friar never feels like a real character. Moll injects some humanity – he takes pride in his rose garden – but Ambrosio doesn't come across as a person.

Despite having a story and character that's difficult to connect with, The Monk remains watchable because of its beauty. Patrick Blossier's (Days Of Glory) cinematography lights up what is a dull story. The moody gothic interiors of the monastery perfectly contrast the sun-kissed desert outside, so bright you have to squint after spending so much time in the dark hallways. Cassel's measured performance is one of note but neither he nor Blossier can lift The Monk from the doldrums.

Review by Gavin Burke | 12:17 | Friday 27th April 2012 | Movie Review

2862

• PreviousDamsels In Distress
• View all
• NextLockout

Comments

• FilmBuff76

  Lemming director Dominik Moll dusts down Matthew Lewis' gothic 1796 novel The Monk. Reliable French actor Vincent Cassel takes the lead role as the maverick monk Ambrosio. Pious and committed to his beliefs, he begins to question his own moral values when a masked, horribly burned man joins the monastery. Behind that mask though is an attractive young woman (Deborah Francois) who leads him down the path to temptation. Is she an emissary of the Devil? Consumed by his newly unearthed emotions, he seeks out to corrupt others... Soaked in gothic atmosphere, The Monk has echoes of The Name Of The Rose though it isn't as compelling as that film. What it is though is a rewarding look at the human condition and the psychological nature of a soul's fall to temptation, corruption and ultimately doom. Well worth a look if you want something unique and different.

  Posted 11:02 | Sat 28th Apr 2012

• Ryan Fitzpatrick

  The struggle between rationality and instinct in the human psyche in religious parable. Sexuality vs. Civilization. Profound film with the intimidating atmosphere of a contest between Good and Evil fought on the battlegrounds of the human spirit and the 'supernatural world'. Sex and Soul: a film for bohemians. Bourgeoisie may find it "a bit too weird for me like but the sex got me in the mood for the rest of the night so that was okay you know".

  Posted 16:33 | Sat 12th May 2012

• Joker

  Vincent Cassel is always awesome to watch, but not sure about him playing such a toned down role. Then again, beats cheezy villains...

  Posted 14:37 | Fri 20th Apr 2012

Log in to leave a comment

Login or register to leave a comment

Enter your email:

Enter Password: Lost Your Password?