Absolution

Coincidentally, this is the second thriller I see in the span of a week that deals with the Catholic seal of confession as a main theme. The other one was the almighty Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess", which is obviously a totally different kind of film (*), but nevertheless very fascinating to see how the concept of the supposedly holy and inviolable privacy of confession forms the inspiration for intense, grim and robust thrillers. And, mind you, then I haven't even mentioned Pete Walker's raunchy "The Confessional Murders" (a.k.a. "House of Mortal Sin") yet!

"Absolution" is a very compelling and original thriller, albeit admittedly one that too patiently takes its time to unfold. This shouldn't come too much as a surprise, since the scriptwriter is none other than Anthony Shaffer. He made himself immortal with screenplays like "Sleuth" and especially "The Wicker Man", and they are definitely also slow-brooding and unsettling stories with a heavy focus on character development. Richard Burton is truly great as the humorless Father Goddard; teacher/head priest in a strict Catholic boarding school for boys. When his prime pupil, of whom Goddard was certain he'd become an exemplary priest, suddenly develops a rebellious streak because he befriends a free-spirited drifter (Billy Connolly), things quickly escalate. The student, Benjamin, plays a vicious prank on Father Goddard and desecrates the holy confession, but things even get worse when people turn up murdered and fellow students missing. Also typical for an Anthony Shaffer screenplay is that nothing is what it seems, and the finale keeps some extreme violence and couple of surprise twists in store. I also would have preferred "Absolution" to kickstart a bit sooner, so that the first 40-45 minutes weren't so difficult to struggle through, but the second half is really good. Apart from Burton, there are great performances from the young actors Dominique Guard and David Bradley, and the climax is downright fantastic. Slightly predictable, maybe, but definitely satisfying for fans of grim horror and downbeat endings.

(*) I state there isn't a direct connection between Hitchcock's "I Confess" and "Absolution", but that isn't entirely true. One of the first screenplays the great Anthony Shaffer wrote was for "Frenzy"; - and that became the nastiest serial killer thriller to ever be directed by Hitchcock. Also, one year after "Absolution, director Anthony Page took on "The Lady Vanishes" as his next project, and that was a remake of a fantastic 1938 thriller; - directed by ... Alfred Hitchcock.

Angry looking, twitchy Richard Burton stars as a priest at an all boys school. He's all for slapping down the disabled, annoying pupil while praising the sycophantic, sneaky pupil (I've forgotten their names already). Meanwhile, Billy Connolly of all people turns up as a drifter and after being told to bolt by Burton, sets up camp on the school grounds and begins to turn the sneaky pupil's head onto drink and drugs and living free.

Vexed by Connolly's free spirit and nimble banjo plucking, Burton sets out to get rid of the Glaswegian hippy and get his pupil to return where every adolescent boy belongs: in a school run by Catholic priests. Brian Glover appears as a policeman that gives out a good old seventies police kicking for good measure. However, the tables turn as the young pupil confesses that he's murdered somebody, but is he telling the truth or is it just all mind games to drive old rummy Burton out of his mind?

This film is deadly, deadly slow, but quite on purpose. It's yet another one of these seventies movies where the plot zigs and zags and somehow retains a dark atmosphere that modern films somehow can't quite emulate. There's very little by way of action, but one burst of violence took me by surprise in it's brutality (a nasty axe to the face scene). Burton looks genuinely annoyed at everything, and as this was Billy Connolly back when he was funny, he's enjoyable too. This is not a film for insomniacs but good for those with a bit of patience.

I wonder what it must have been like for Dominic Guard to play this really pretty manipulative role opposite Richard Burton. Whatever nerves or awe he may have felt is very well disguised, though, as he turns in a super performance as the young student "Benjie". His teacher - "Fr. Goddard" (Burton) is a man of profound faith and little tolerance of, or interest in, his students. The former alights on a plan to torment the latter by making a false confession - safe in the knowledge that this confession must be taken to the grave. The priest believes, investigates and discovers it is a practical joke. Soon, though, he is being subjected, regularly, to more equally heinous confessions and after discovering that there is truth to one of them, he slowly he begins to lose the plot. The pace builds well, the performances from the two and from David Bradley's slightly OCD "Arthur" giving us quite a sense of tension, and the last few scenes offer us a pretty brutal and unexpected series of twists. Burton is immersed in the role, and though maybe a little hammy towards the end manages to work well with the two younger actors to create quite a tense drama. The narrative also opens up to scrutiny the concept of "blind faith" - however well intentioned, and encourages thoughts on the pros and cons of any form of religion-based eduction.

The beginning is slightly boring but as you get into the film it twists and turns many times giving a great ending. Burton being one of the best actors of all time, gave a brilliant performance. From the tag line and the description of the film, I didn't think it was going to be a good as it was. The ending was unexpected, so i believe it to be very well written, very well cast and very well directed. This is a must for any Burton fan. I give it a rating of 3 out of 5

It's a gripping thriller, and Richard Burton is utterly convincing in the kind of role he was born to play (a rigid priest/teacher, but with traces of humanity underneath). But the constant flow of twists results in constant shifts in the characterizations, until the whole thing becomes too far-fetched for its own good. Nonetheless, it certainly didn't deserve its gross mistreatment by the American distributors, who released it ten years after it was made. (**1/2)