God Is the Bigger Elvis

The amazing and unusual life of former Hollywood actress Dolores Hart is exposed in this short film. In 1963 at the age of 25, Hart was a star having acted with superstars like Elvis Presley and was in love and engaged to architect Don Robinson. Despite having what most could only conceive in dreams, she gave it all up to her calling to live as a nun in a benedictine abbey in Connecticut where she has lived ever since.

With modesty, Hart explains the need for a deeper spiritual connection in her life as the reason for her life-changing decision. The film explores her history of living at the abbey and interviews other nuns and how they reached the same decision. A few nuns were idealists during the 1960s and 1970s - a time when idealism was popular. While the society around them changed, they found the monastic life suitable to the ideals they wanted to keep.

Most amazing is the continuous connection Hart and Robinson had maintained during Hart's life in the convent. This is best exposed in the final scene which is deeply moving in a quiet way. It can remind one of the sadness we feel when we have visited loved ones from far away and might not see again for a long time. It was quite touching and it's worth noting that Robinson died shortly after the film's completion.

The monastic life is described as quite difficult yet many interviewees have found the experience to be more than worth the hard times. While there are no "dropouts" interviewed, "God is the Bigger Elvis" could make one at least think about what monastic life might be like - whatever the spiritual philosophy. - dbamateurcritic.

This documentary isn't quite perfect because really it should have been longer and more in depth, in my opinion. Its brevity creates a tantalizing space where too many questions remain unanswered.

However, I loved the weight of the content - the reality of nuns being former Hollywood actresses or CEOs with drinking problems, women who had doubts and flaws who simply never felt right getting married to a man or living in the world.

They also touch on how it's not easy, how all of their problems aren't magically solved by choosing this vocation. I think more real-world information about the lives of cloistered people in religious life should exist.

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LOVE the title and LOVE this short documentary!

Had heard for MANY years the story of Ms. Hart and how she, like Grace Kelly, had left it all behind, but often wondered what her life must have been like after leaving Hollywood.

And now, I KNOW !!

Also appreciate GREATLY that they didn't feel the need to go on for another hour, simply because most "serious" documentaries tend to run anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours, just like most feature films!

This one VERY directly gives all the background info., where, and how Dolores Hart is today, and a brief idea of what her life was like in the intervening 50 years.

No muss, No fuss, and that's it !!

A job, I might add, that is well done, and leaves the viewer NOT wanting any more........simply because nothing more needs to be said !!

Well Done !!

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I have a hard time distinguishing a cloistered life from a Manson cult. It has the same mental illness, the same self-hatred, the same power figure, and the same denial of reality. It is quite possible to live simply and close to nature without the trappings of an organization with rules, rituals, and rites. Only when life is "too much" for you is there a temptation to give up. But giving up it is, make no mistake.

I remember a drinking game called Cardinal Puff. It required an exact routine. If you made a mistake, you had to drink up and start over. It had as much meaning as the cloistered routine.

It made me sad to see that Ms. Hart gave up on life and mental health, but also very happy that she is content with her choices. The true thing is that we have to reconcile ourselves to the choices we make. She has done so.

God Is Bigger Than Elvis (2012)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar-nominated documentary taking a look at the life and career of Dolores Hart. The title, and the film's main focus, centers on Hart walking away from a good career in Hollywood and becoming a nun. Hart is probably best remembered for her role with Elvis in LOVING YOU and this 36-minute documentary interviews her about working with the star, other Hollywood people and why she gave it up to become a nun. Looking around the internet it seems this film has gained quite a bit of praise by people who respect Hart for giving up a career to become a nun but there's another group of people out there that seem to really hate her and the story told here. It's interesting that a film such as this can have such strong views by two opposite sides but I guess this happens when religion is involved. For the most part I found the documentary to be interesting and especially the early stuff with Hart in Hollywood. I thought the Elvis stories were quite nice and it was also interesting hearing about where her career might have gone had she not had a change of heart. It's also interesting hearing from the man she was supposed to marry and he talks about his heart being broken when he got the news that she was going to join the abbey.