Romans

I watched this film while in Poland and was unexpectedly blown away. Orlando Bloom gives the performance of his career with another sterling supporting performance from Alex Ferns. At times this film is challenging to watch as the lead character is dealing with the repercussions of sexual abuse, however it is a subject matter that begs to be addressed and is dealt with exceptionally well.

A different sort of role for Orlando Bloom, as an ex-con fighting through his reality many years after being molested by a Priest of the church. It doesn't come off as yet another hit piece on the church at least. It is however, a dark and moody movie. It's not bad and also not great. The best part of it is that it had some language and skin. 6/10.

This one wasn't easy for me to sit through, but in the end, it was well worth the watch.

Very good performance by Orlando Bloom, as well as by Charlie Creed-Miles.

They should have stuck with the title "ROMANS" because a certain passage in that part of the New Testament is really the central theme of the story, at least it was for me.

Most movies are easily forgettable, but not this one. I'm thinking about it long after watching.

It has more depth to it than expected. Fair warning: it is not an Equalizer-type film. It's a different category altogether.

"Be not carried away to revenge and retaliation (Romans, 12,V 19) by evil which is committed against you, but overcome the evil by the good which you show to your enemy (V20), put to shame by your noble spirit, ceases to act malignantly against you . . . ." Paul

Retaliation, starring a surprisingly competent Orlando Bloom as Malky, is about a demolition worker trying to demolish the memory of abuse by a priest when Malky was 12. The plot is simple, a thriller at the least, encouraging the audience to guess whether he will exorcise his demon or take Christ's advice (see above).

The film focuses almost exclusively on Malky, whose growing torture about the abuse bleeds out into everything he encounters, be it his Mum (Anne Reed), his best friend, Jo (Alex Ferns), or, most lamentably, girlfriend Emma (Janet Montgomery). His rage is palpable, and because he shares its reason with no one, it is quietly volcanic.

At times the metaphors (cross, stigmata, and glasses, just for starters) are heavy; yet Bloom so effectively carries their weight, they serve as effectively as could be expected without distracting. The text from Paul helps audiences to understand the victim's dilemma as well as answer how Malky can appease the vengeance.

Bloom is a revelation-abandoning for the moment his pretty boy roles-by turning in a memorable performance recently as an army captain in The Outpost, and in this role underplaying and overplaying grief and anger without relying on the charms that made him a global star.

For those who were brought up Catholic, stories of priestly abuse haunt even more when they are true. My attempted abuse by a priest when I was an undergraduate stays with me as I reconcile the disparity between piety and pederasty, its prevalence and its persistence. Retaliation will prevail as one of the best takes on religious perfidy.