Into Temptation (2009)

Too much of everything

good back-story, and good acting

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Without being a cornball piece of fluff, this film left me feeling that maybe somewhere, even if it's only in a film, people do still try to help each other out without regard for money, or some type of favor. Without the non-stop assault on our senses, emotions, and intellect, this film tells a touching story that really resonates, due to the excellent performances by every actor in the film. Good writing, direction and a marvelous score by a composer who is not afraid to admit that he is influenced by Bernard Herrmann, and doesn't have to use synthesizers and drum machines to cop out. We should be thankful to see a film that has no hip-hop and rap.

After Catholicism has been under attack for so many years due to the abuse of children by some immoral Catholic priest,there was one movie that redeems it.That movie is Into Temptation.Into Temptation is an independent drama film written and directed by Patrick Coyle, that stars Jeremy Sisto, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Baumgartner, Bruce A. Young and Amy Matthews. It tells the story of a prostitute, who confesses to a Catholic priest that she plans to kill herself on her birthday. The priest attempts to find and save her, and in doing so plunges himself into a darker side of society.Jeremy Sisto stars as Catholic priest Father John,who has become complacent in his vocation until the day that a depressed prostitute, Linda Salerno,played wonderfully by Kristin Chenowith,wanders into his confessional and reveals that she intends to commit suicide on her birthday -- and then disappears. Father John's quest to find and save the woman leads him on a journey into the city's sexual underworld, where he finds help from unexpected sources.The movie redeems the Catholic faith in the sense that it shows that priests do exist to help lost souls and bring them to God.Aside from that,it also explores the effect of the sacrament of confession.It was wonderful that his movie shows that this neglected sacrament does help in bringing people closer to God.Aside from that,the movie also examines the power of forgiveness and its effect to everyone.The performances in the movie were great especially that of Kristin Chenowith,who is outstanding in evoking the emotional complexities felt by the prostitute,Linda Salerno.She truly was effective in gaining the sympathy of the viewer.Great mention should also be given to Jeremy Sisto,who was good in portraying also the inner struggle that a Catholic priest like Father John does experience inside as a person and as a priest. Although there are many ambiguities in the screenplay as other events of the stories are left for the viewers to decide,this is one film that would truly be appreciated by many Catholics who wants to gain faith in the Church and their religion and people who love great independent movies.Into Temptation delivers.It was worth one's time and it is highly recommended.It was truly deserving of a 10 of 10 rating.

I am bringing two skill sets to this review; (1) a tough movie critic, and (2) an irreverent but informed ex-seminary student. On both fronts, this film was spectacular.(1) The writing was excellent in terms of being contemporary-- especially in light of the context of a Catholic priest--irreverent, unpredictable, unassuming in its theological treatment, unconventional, and (thankfully!) at the end, refreshingly unresolved.(2) The themes were consistently theologically grounded, albeit within the Catholic vernacular. Father Ralph brings a distinctly expedient and assured style into the dialogue, while Father John brings a more deliberate, cognitive but dedicated approach. The two balance each other like a great "work team" arriving at a plausible and thought-provoking explanation for the darkness that is our human condition.This film was surprisingly excellent. Upon watching a few previews prior to the film, I had significant doubts that I would finish a full 95 minutes of viewing. Yet the film brought me through real life, uncomfortable conversations, earnest seeking, genuine intent, and left me with the best possible theological conclusion: one of Grace.

***********POSSIBLE BIG-TIME SPOILERS!!!************* This film is a rare and very precious gift, for real. It took me 2 viewings to fully comprehend what message it was trying to convey, and that's true with any film. There are NO flaws in this film. If it seems too slow or introspective or you feel it's not "talking" loudly enough for you, you may be like me: You need to see it at least twice.It is a quiet, gentle, yet intensely communicative film about damage, sin, searching for one's faith, begging for absolution while knowing that life cannot go on, a misguided attempt to intervene, the realization of one's terrible mistakes, forgiveness and atonement.In an inner-city Catholic parish, ironically named St. Mary Magdalen's, a young priest (Jeremy Sisto), ordained 12 years ago, keeps busy and dedicated to God's work. When not listening to busybody wives complain incessantly about their husband's habits, he is counseling mothers-to-be, a conflicted youth who believes he is gay, and an unemployed ex-boxer; or he is running a homeless shelter, praying over the sick/dying, or attending mandatory speaking appearances with the ladies' auxillary.His life, while super-busy and tirelessly dedicated, seems strangely routine somehow. But one evening, before Mass, a beautiful blond woman named Linda (Kristin Chenoweth) comes to confession for the first time in nearly 2 decades. She confesses that she wants to end her life on her own birthday, sometime in the very near future, and she strongly needs Father John to give her an answer: Am I damned for eternity if I commit this "unpardonable" sin? She spends a while telling John her sad tale, then leaves abruptly.The first sign that Father John Buerlein is about to embark on an interesting journey was not evident to me on first viewing. And I don't want to spoil it too much; Father John had a certain task to perform, right there in that confessional booth, and he should have concentrated on that one task. As Father Ralph O'Brien (Brian Baumgartner) puts it, "Don't cross that line, John." From the first moment he encounters Linda, though, John seems unable to put it out of his mind. He finds himself preoccupied even at the pulpit. He keeps hearing her voice, and maybe, he already is aware of the mistake he's made handling this encounter, and desperately needs to make things right before she carried out her final plans. He begins to conduct a search for Linda, whose whole face he never got a look at, only her hair, lips and the crucifix she wore. His desperation, his need to make it up to her that he didn't do what he should have in the booth, drive him to places he would never have gone to. He HAS TO FIND HER. That's all he knows. And it seems he must do what he must. He researches prostitutes in the public library, he takes a prostitute out for a drink, and most bizarre, when the owner of a sex shoppe tells him he has to buy something in order to look around the place for Linda, he buys a porn magazine. Somehow, even though he knows he is treading in dangerous waters, his obsession with finding and stopping Linda is so strong that he believes that if he fraternizes with the patrons of the streets, pimps, prostitutes, peep show dancers and porn shoppes, he will somehow find Linda and save her life.Why is he obsessed so? Does he feel like the work he's already doing not really go anywhere? Is he, a seasoned priest, not really sincere and on the prowl for some good carnal fun? Is he going through the motions, having become "lukewarm" in his faith? Not at all. It's more than obvious, he needs to find Linda again and help her, like he should have in the first place.The characters Zeke, Gus and Miriam are so mysteriously crafted that at first I was asking, "Angels among us?" Oh yeah, and we can't forget James St. Clair!!! While we follow Father John on his journey through the dark streets of Linda's world, we take an internal tour of him as well, and as much as I loved Chenoweth's portrayal of the tortured Linda, this is definitely Sisto's film for the most part. We find out a lot about him, and the many sources of earthly, fleshly "temptation" that a lesser person would cave and succumb to. After all the negative portrayals we've seen and heard of Catholic priests, it is as refreshing as a winter night's air to see a man, a young man at that, be this disciplined and dedicated, to possess such a strength of spirit, to be able to resist what most men weaken and lust after. John doesn't even waver in the presence of his beautiful ex-girlfriend Nadine (Amy Matthews) who is back in town and asking him point blank if he still has feelings and desires for her. The film will not be for you if you are looking for action and explosions are one-liners. The humour is extremely good, but there will be no spoofing or schock-sex-humour or big jokes like in a film like DOGMA by Kevin Smith (also an admirable film about the Catholic faith, but very different from this!!!) The pace is very fast, but again, the key word here is subtlety. You have to pay close attention to every word, every scene, every detail. The only gripes I'll offer is that I don't know whose pix Linda is looking at in that scene where she is going thru a box of her stuff.Honestly, I didn't know what I'd think of it, being that it is a film about a priest descending into a dark underground to find a hooker. But I love this film! I'll give it an A+.