Thought-Provoking Theology
But Stigmata Fails to Frighten

The supernatural is -- for some people -- a closed subject. They go about their daily lives, never giving a second thought to God, religion, or the Church. In the new film, Stigmata, a self-proclaimed unbeliever finds herself blessed with a most mysterious gift. But it is a gift she never asked for, and it is quickly becoming a curse.

In the Catholic Church, there are those people who are believed to have such a strong faith that they exhibit spontaneous wounds resembling those of Jesus Christ at the time of his death. In Stigmata, a wild, party-girl named Frankie Page (Patricia Arquette, Goodbye Lover) finds herself drawn into the world of the supernatural when these same wounds mysteriously begin to affect her.

The problem with Stigmata is that the writers, Tom Lazarus and Rick Ramage, could never decide whose story to tell. Part of the movie is dedicated to Frankie and her inability to deal with the strange and horrible wounds affecting her. Nevertheless, the movie begins -- and ultimately centers -- on Father Andrew (Gabriel Byrne) a priest/scientist who investigates purported miracles for the Vatican.

There is a certain amount of mystery surrounding Frankie's sudden involvement in a miracle of a faith she doesn't believe. It is that mystery, more than her frightening circumstance, that becomes the point of the film. As Father Andrew is pulled from one assignment to investigate Frankie's wounds, he senses that something is being covered up. Yet, he has no way of knowing that the two incidents are related.

Because the movie becomes one of intrigue (although not very well told), it ceases to be a frightening film and takes on the appearance of a supernatural mystery movie. Father Andrew becomes something of a Vatican Columbo, trying to discover the horrible secret of the words Frankie is writing in an ancient language. The story stops being about miracles and becomes one of a power struggle within the Church.

The filmmakers try to validate their "mystery," with a post-script describing the "Gospel of Thomas" that the Church has refused to validate as inspired Word. A little research of my own has found a few things. First, the "Gospel of Thomas" was not discovered until the mid 1800s. Second, it is unlike the other Gospels because it is a collection of sayings, not a narrative. Third, the filmmakers tampered with the actual words of this document in order to make it sound threatening to the Church. The verses used in the film are not a direct quote.

When Stigmata was hyped as so frightening it will "scare the hell into you," I expected it to be at least on par with The Exorcist. No such luck. Although there were some disturbing images of bloody wounds, there was no "horror" in this film. It is an interesting work of fiction, but nothing beyond that.

MY RATING: 4 out of 10.

RATED:
RUN TIME: 105 min.

Thought-Provoking Theology But Stigmata Fails to Frighten

Thought-Provoking Theology
But Stigmata Fails to Frighten