The Good Catholic (2017)

Saw this movie at the Historic Artcraft Theatre in Franklin, IN. Both me (Dad) and my 13 year old daughter really enjoyed it as entertainment, but the conversations it inspired were even better.In one sense, the plot may have been a little formulaic, but the struggle between loyalty to what we 'should' do and following our hearts is a pretty universal theme, so it never felt 'trite.' What we particularly liked about this was that the church wasn't treated disrespectfully or as a joke, and the homilies included were as good as you're likely to hear most Sunday mornings, even if surrounded by tension reducing humor. Additionally, there was no "fall" or gratuitous romance scenes - this is about characters and character, and it works.My favorite performance was by John C McGinley, who was not only funny but also (com)passionate, and in my experience knowing many clergy well, he was authentic. His first love is crystal clear, even thought he appreciates much of the world 'outside' the church. Danny Glover's character is fiercely loyal to his calling, and of course Zachary Spicer struggles between "the" passion and being present to people as a priest and finding God in loving another person passionately.We also loved that Bloomington, Indiana, was also almost a character in the film. McGinley's love of IU basketball, the small(ish) town walks around the courthouse square, the local neighborhoods and coffeehouse, together gave a sense of reality and earthiness that wouldn't have played as well in a 'big city' setting. Here's to Indy filmmaking that celebrates 'place'!The ending, though controversial, was perfect for me. I don't believe he leaves the church, even if he does remove his collar. Like the parents of the screenwriter, Daniel may no longer serve as clergy, but he has chosen love, and has not abandoned God, but has found that God who was distant is now close (John 4:12). Isn't it possible that God has honored Daniel's faithfulness by showing him faith through loving another person? At the end, God is love, so maybe we never have to choose between God and love? Daniels answer (and mine) is simply, "Yes."

I think the ending is disgraceful. It is not an open one but it tells us exactly that they will stay together. I think that people have a free will and decide what they want to do with their life at some point as grown ups and should make a fixed commitment to what they do independently if it is being a priest or getting married, etc. So giving a permission to someone to make up his mind in the middle of the process by just saying it is all about love is not fair. Grass is always greener on the other side, I know that being a priest is tough, no family, loneliness, but being in a marriage today and keeping it lifelong is also a real challenge, so whatever our vocation is in this life I think we should stick to it and try harder to make it work because giving up is the easiest way to do but brings regrets after all.

THE GOOD CATHOLIC finds a decent young man trying to follow a path set out for him by his father, that of a Catholic priest. We can sense from the first scene his restlessness in the confines of this dogma-bound and tightly constricted role. He yearns for meaning in life and thought to satisfy that yearning in the priesthood but finds himself embracing phantoms until an edgy and clever young woman enters his life. She claims to be dying but touches him with her spark of individuality and suddenly he understands his life can be more than a period of long waiting for the end, more than fear of hell and hope of heaven. The movie evokes very powerfully the deep yearning of youth for a lifetime story of love and meaning, for experiencing something intense and alive before it's too late, the awful fear that youth has that it will never be young.

No matter what you might think this is about from the title, you're wrong. IOW, don't not see the film because of it. It's neither a polemic mocking religious faith, nor does it say anything about religion except maybe why don't we all just sit down and start over. All four primary characters are superbly cast, including Danny Glover who is about 3 steps above anything I've ever seen him in before. The subject matter is handled respectfully, albeit with liberal amounts of humor which zeros in on the fact that most religions take themselves way to seriously--which the production company apparently takes to heart, naming itself Pigasus (sic) Pictures.This is about as perfect as you can expect an independent film to be. It's only flaw is there being too much lipstick on Daniel--which is so obvious, I wondered if they just wanted to give the audience something to criticize. Needless to say, there's no actual action for the action junkies, but the dialogue and the subject matter are outstanding--and at times, profound. This is my second "10" of the year, (18th all time), the first being only a week ago, so I was wondering if coming out of the summer movie drought has something to do with it.It' doesn't'.