Priest **** (1994, Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Robert Carlyle) – Classic Movie Review 330

Director Antonia Bird’s outstanding 1994 drama about a young, idealistic priest, Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache), who is struggling between his Catholic calling and his homosexuality, is extremely moving, persuasive and thought provoking.

Arriving in a new parish, Father Greg moves in to the house of older priest Father Matthew Thomas (Tom Wilkinson), whom he finds having a relationship with his maid.

Father Greg hears the confession of schoolgirl Lisa (Christine Tremarco) about her incestuous father abusing her. Confused about what to do, he goes to a pub and meets Graham (Robert Carlyle). They have sex and later enjoy an on-off relationship. Then Father Greg’s arrested making love in a parked car…

Roache (already 30 then but looking much younger) is superb in what is probably still his best performance, Wilkinson is outstanding as the older priest Father Matthew Thomas, and Carlyle is ideal as the gay lover. The rest of the distinguished cast (Cathy Tyson, James Ellis, Lesley Sharp, Robert Pugh, Paul Barber, Jimmy Gallagher, Anthony Booth) are excellent too.

Jimmy McGovern’s intelligent, perceptive and honourable screenplay says all the right things exactly right. It’s a thoroughly compelling and challenging piece of work.

It was made by the BBC for its Screen 2 TV strand, but was picked up and distributed in UK cinemas by PolyGram and in the US by Miramax, ensuring a deserved wider audience.

It ran, perhaps inevitably, into a few censorship problems. The director was forced to cut a scene featuring Roache’s bare ass to gain an R rating in the US. The Catholic Church in Ireland tried to get the film banned from cinemas, though it was passed with an 18 certificate there (15 in the UK) and screened in theatres to much protest over the Easter weekend.

Antonia Bird won the 1995 Teddy at Berlin for Best Feature Film, the 1994 award for Best New British Feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival and the People’s Choice Award at the 1994 Toronto Film Festival.

It runs 105 minutes but the cut US version runs 97 minutes.

Antonia Bird died of cancer in October 2013, aged 54. She also made Ravenous and Face with Carlyle.

Anthony Booth, who plays Tommy, died on 25 September 2017, aged 85.

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