For centuries, a secret Order has existed within the Church. Following a series of unexplained murders, a renegade priest (Heath Ledger) begins an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of unimaginable evil.
Atmospheric Christian conspiracy thriller in the vein of 'Stigmata' (though not as good) & 'End Of Days' (though not as badly acted) but unlike those millennium pictures which harboured distinct apocalyptic overtones, 'The Sin Eater' is more of a straightforward, Vatican centric murder mystery, albeit one where religion and religious superpowers play a major role.
Auteur Brian Helgeland ('Payback') reunites his cast from 'A Knights Tale': The late Heath Ledger stars as brooding NY priest Alex Briener; which is by far a better gig than jousting to 'Queen' songs, sexy Shannyn Sossamon a.k.a. mini-Winnona Ryder, also returns as an escaped mental patient who tried to kill Alex (but loves him really) after he botched her exorcism a few years back. Its' not a great role, but by far a better gig than cheering on some bloke jousting to 'Queen' songs. Mark Addy's back as Ledger's priestly sidekick and comic relief, which is a decent gig, quite a fair bit better than telling jokes as some bloke jousts to 'Queen' songs, in fact, the only cast member from 'A Knight's Tale' not to return was Paul Bettany, who obviously remembers playing a drunk Chaucer making crude jokes whilst some bloke jousted to 'Queen' songs. Though in all fairness; 'A Knight's Tale' wasn't the worst film ever made, and I'm sure it's great if you're 7. But back to 'The Sin Eater': Alex investigates the suspicious death of his order's spiritual leader, criminal deeds in Vatican (so what else is new?), the rise of a neo-pagan dark pope (which, believe it or not, is based on actual documented evidence), a mysterious dagger that holds some relevance to the age of Cathedrals, logic, faith, reason, love and if that wasn't enough: the existence of a fabled sin eater who...well; eats other people's sins. Sins, apparently, look like ghostly apparitions with a cool golden hue that can be soaked into a piece of bread and eaten like a dip. Nice. There are a lot of interesting ideas at work here, and many of them aren't fully explored, nonetheless; there's a fair bit of suspense & drama to see it though, plenty of sinister goings on and look out for an appearance by 'The Passion's' Satan; Rosalina Celentano. 'The Sin Eater' was promptly excommunicated from theatres upon its release in 2003, so perhaps its time for a reappraisal; for in the wake of the recent trend of mindless torture porn and gore, this movie seems like a complex and reflective masterpeice of Bergman-esque subtly, come back Helgeland: All is forgiven.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Alex Bernier (Ledger) is a member of an arcane order of priests known as Carolingians. When the head of the order dies, Alex is sent to Rome to investigate mysterious circumstances surrounding the death and soon finds himself plunged into the heart of a mystery... The body bears strange marks on the chest which may or may not be the sign of a Sin Eater (Furmann), a renegade who offers absolution, last rites and therefore a path to heaven outside the jurisdiction of the church. Alex enlists the aid of his old comrade Father Thomas (Addy) and of a troubled artist (Sossamon) upon whom he once performed an exorcism. He soon finds himself plunged into a mystery only to find himself at the heart of it. Actors Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Benno Furmann, Mark Addy, Peter Weller & Francesco Carnelutti Director Brian Helgeland Certificate 15 years and over Year 2003 Screen Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) Subtitles English Duration 1 hour and 38 minutes (approx)
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