Sacrificios

I really enjoyed this somewhat little known Canadian film about a Montreal police detective hot on the trail of a prostitute's death. Christopher Plummer does an excellent job as the cop trying to find out who killed Karen Black. Black is dead in the beginning of the film ,and the film alternates between what Plummer is doing in real time and flashback-type sequences with Black going through everything that happened up until her death. Black is lovely and adequate in her role, and the point of view used with her AFTER she was killed was quite inventive. But it is Plummer's performance which really seizes the film and makes it into something more than a regular murder mystery movie. Plummer discovers by piece by piece of evidence that Black became the victim of some sort of cult. Director Harvey Hart does an able job with the script creating tense scenes when needed and alternating shooting continuity between the two story lines. The film should not be over-looked. The biggest problem with the film for me is the opening credits which seems to drone on forever and accompanied by the most boring film song I have heard in a long. long time.

The effects aren't great and the movie jumps around in time a lot - if you aren't bilingual (English and French) then you might not get it right away. However, it's original, and Karen Black is beautiful as a heroin addicted hooker. I love the shots of Montreal in the 1970's throughout the film. I plan to watch this again someday.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1 Casting - 1/1 Directing - 0.5/1 Story - 1/1 Writing/Screenplay - 1/1

Total Base Score = 4.5

Modifiers (+ or -) Originality: 1

Total RealReview Rating: 5.5 (rounded up to 6 for IMDB)

Cynical detective investigates the murder of a prostitute, a case which has occult underpinnings. Murky, unpleasant picture with bloody deaths and odd nude shots of Karen Black (perhaps it's Black's body-double, for you rarely see Karen's face connected to the shapely naked figure). Christopher Plummer does a great job as the investigator; a handsome wise-ass, he's terrifically funny in his offhand manner and gives this a big boost. There's a bummer of a subplot involving a homosexual, and the damp Canadian locales are visually dull, but I did admire director Harvey Hart's structuring of the before-and-after storyline. Despite some great reviews from the critics, "The Pyx" just kind of tails off, and the credits hit the screen before you can stop scratching your head. ** from ****

"The Pyx" may indeed lose a bit of its effectiveness if one already knows one of the ultimate twists going in, but it's still a reasonably absorbing, if awfully slow moving, detective thriller with a touch of horror and a strong emphasis on Catholic guilt. It's a somewhat overlooked Canadian movie, filmed on location in Montreal, that derives most of its impact from the performances of its two Academy Award nominated stars. Canada's own Christopher Plummer is solid as Detective Sergeant Jim Henderson, investigating the death of prostitute Elizabeth Lucy, played by Karen Black.

Both leads deliver touching performances as each of them struggle with their own inner demons. And they receive great support from some of the other actors, particularly Jean-Louis Roux as Keerson, Yvette Brind'amour as Meg the madam, and Terry Haig as Jimmy.

The movie's most prominent aspect is the way it moves back and forth in time, following both Henderson as he works to solve the crime, and Elizabeth on her doom-laden path. This leads to moments that are interesting but might be disconcerting for some viewers, as characters are killed off in one scene and alive and well in the next. Director Harvey Hart, working from a screenplay by Robert Schlitt, based on the novel by John Buell, emphasizes mood and feel at all times, and it's commendable that he and cinematographer Rene Verzier would shoot this in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and give it that sense of scope. It's worth noting, also, the level of talent that Black displays here, as she composes the songs heard and sings them beautifully as well.

Even if the climax is spoiled for the viewer ahead of time, it's still nicely creepy, and leads to a pretty devastating ending confrontation where one character is able to see into another's soul. The producer is Julian Roffman, who 12 years previous had been director on a 3-D movie titled "The Mask" considered to be Canada's first horror movie. "The Pyx" (the title refers to a small round container used to carry the consecrated host to sick or invalid individuals or those otherwise unable to receive Holy Communion in a church) is good entertainment, overall, and definitely worthy of a look.

Seven out of 10.

Harvey Hart directs THE PYX, a 1973 Canadian film which in turns presents facets as a film noir, a horror picture, and a plain whodunnit. Which sounds both fun and engrossing.

Reality is somewhat different. Police sergeant Plummer develops a keen interest in a hooker found dead in some Canadian city where French is spoken about as much as English, so much so that he even leaves his cuddly, sex-seeking pert-breasted lovely wife to go investigate the death of Elizabeth, a hooker who shoots drugs.

Definitely an ahead of its time flick in 1973 but bogged down by too many flashbacks and flashforwards, never making it crystal who the narrator is, which irritated me after a while.

Worth watching for the acting and Black's stunning good looks. 6/10.