Ordinary Sinner

What an awful film, the acting is lousy, the plot is woeful. I'd find putting pins in my eyes more enjoyable then this dire movie

"Ordinary Sinner" is not a film I would have normally sought out. But I saw it on the Logo network while channel-surfing and gave it a chance. I am VERY glad I did! This is a quiet film. Nothing flashy, though the main character is a very beautiful man. The point of the film, however, is to show how things get out of hand with tragic results when someone gets a crazy idea in his head. This is something that we have all seen... a man gets a dumb idea in his head and it leads him to doing something horrible. Ordinary people can end up doing horrible things. Hence the title "Ordinary sinner." The heart of the movie is a priest who is a very godly man. He shows how religion can be used for good. A member of his congregation gets a crazy idea in his head, which leads him to do evil in the name of religion.

You can see that this is the perfect parable for today.

Brendan Hines is excellent as the young man who drops out of a seminary, who holds the entire movie together. His stunning good looks make the movie very enjoyable.

Peter Onorati is wonderful as a man who fiercely stands up to wrong, who attempts to bring justice in the end. Onorati is fantastic in this strong, passionate role.

A. Martinez is perfect as the Mexican priest around whose life the entire movie is centered. Martinez is a powerhouse actor, and he brings great depth to the role and to this movie.

This foolish, implausible tale is redeemed only by the opening scene in which a hard-boiled police detective delivers some nearly-audible lines confirming our greatest fears: He is dead. Perhaps the film would have been saved had the director forgone the dazzling star power of A. Martinez in favor of this sadly-anonymous actor who filled the screen for a brief moment. That a no-name hack-tor off the street could salvage such a dishwater film is no less likely than a villain committing murder by dropping stones into a quarry for an unsuspecting diver. His moment is brief; his promise is immense. Perhaps we will be treated to more screen time by this obscure thespian if there is ever a sequel to this ill-advised film.

It was a good story, but not very well told. I liked the themes and the main story line, which wasn't as clear as it could have been. Maybe there was too much going on and a lack of ability to reign it all in. The acting was okay to cheesy, some were stronger than others and even the stronger actors had their moments of lesser quality acting. It took me a couple of months to get through the entire movie because it didn't keep my attention and the flow was just bad. I only just finished watching it and I'm glad I did as the movie finally gets moving and has some continuity toward the end. Again, a good story, but the delivery was sub par. Would recommend it for the story line and maybe a little eye candy, and I do mean, a little.

After a somewhat mysterious failure counseling a gay youth, Peter questions his calling to the priesthood and drops out of the Episcopal seminary. He moves into a shack near the campus where his lifelong best friend Alex is attending college and where `Father Ed' a youngish Episcopal priest has his congregation. Father Ed has been an advisor and friend to Peter for some time and questions Peter's decision to give up his calling. Father Ed also uses his pulpit to question the preaching of a radical Christian cell on campus that is promoting prejudice and the hatred of homosexuals.

When a tragic accident occurs we see the aftermath and are forced to confront our prejudices as the details slowly come to light.

Overall this is an enjoyable story well told, that allows the audience to see other aspects of prejudice beyond the obvious.