rooprect Perhaps like you, I hesitated to watch this film because I thought it might fall into the standard clichés of a religious thriller (like a cluelessly naïve priest, a slutty prostitute, gratuitous booty shots, vapid dialogue, blatant religious or anti-religious propaganda, predictable ending, etc), so I came to IMDb to check out the reviews. As others have said, this is indeed a great movie. I was really surprised at how much substance the filmmakers packed into this 95 min film. It constantly surprised me and was never predictable while making logical sense the whole way through. And it leaves us with a powerful message we can all munch on, religious folks & atheists alike.Through Jeremy Sisto's character, an intelligent and curious young priest, we are presented with a lot of fascinating themes. Though set amid the Catholic church, we don't get any church propaganda nor do we get church bashing. Instead the film focuses on human beings and how, regardless of god & religion, we attempt to find peace in our souls. The film never comes across as preachy, yet it shows us the value of human interactions and how our trivial actions can have enormous consequences.Conversely, the lascivious underworld of sex & debauchery presents another venue, but the film never descends to the obvious moralizing. Again, they're all shown to be human beings with human interactions, and it's the value of these interactions that gives the world meaning.This is a very dialogue-driven, tone-driven movie. In other words, no car chases, shootouts or big explosions. Instead the interesting characters carry the film and do so brilliantly. There's a lot of playful banter between characters, and the witty humour is what really makes this a fun film even though it makes us think.This may sound odd, but it reminded me a lot of The Exorcist III, another excellent film that packs much more than the DVD cover implies. Both films revolve around a man whose faith is unconventional, who is trying to make sense of a bizarre mystery & how it relates to matters of the soul. And both films have some great humour despite being thrillers. Don't forget the great acting. Jeremy Sisto's quiet, inexperienced-yet-savvy character in Into Temptation is like a young George C Scott in The Exorcist III. Put your thinking cap on, see both films, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.Other obscure films that this reminded me of (and which I also recommend) are "Rudy Blue" (1999), "Angela" (1995), and "The Merry Gentleman" (2008).

Desertman84 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.

secondtake Into Temptation (2009)This is a religious film, really, in street clothes. And in the end it's about how being good is really good.It's also a lesson in how you have to bend the rules to actually do the right thing--even if you fail. And that sometimes you do the right thing and succeed--without even knowing it. Clearly a low budget movie, and a fairly simple one, in filmmaking terms (the sets, the light, the presence of the camera, the side characterizations, and the music, all these key elements, are unremarkable). But the plot itself, with its twists, is enough to make you at least curious. Yes, you wonder why it has to go tawdry at times, why there has to be some sexed up stuff for the viewer (it doesn't advance the plot, in the one egregious case). And there is a tidy solution to the central problem that will seem cheap to nonbelievers and magical to believers.Most of all is a great performance by the lead, the priest, played by Jeremy Sisto. I knew him best from his role as Billy in Six Feet Under, and loved him there, and he is if anything more subtle and interesting (if less outrageous) here. It's a careful, felt performance in a movie that should have supported him better. Other aspects may jump out. His ex-girlfriend, whatever her role, is utterly believable, as much as the prostitute in question is not. The other priest is a caricature who overplays his part but has some great dialog with Sisto. There is the key flashback, which adds yet another layer of meaning, of cause and effect, and though it moved me somehow, I felt manipulated by it, and it was another case where the movie showed its seams.So it may try too hard and strain within its resources (and with the director's reach--he has one other film to his credit, and famous as the voice in a Hamburger Helper t.v. ad), but it has moments that are right on. With Sisto's help. For those inclined toward religious sentimentality.

hipster17 I watched Into Temptation on Netflix's recommendation despite the film's stale-sounding plot outline, primarily because Jeremy Sisto had the lead role. To my surprise, the story turned out to be enveloping and the direction well-paced. Jeremy Sisto was, as expected, excellent: it's not easy to play the role of one Catholic priest and still connect with an audience, what with people bringing well-formed notions about all priests to the table. Rather than shoulder the burden of controversy, Sisto performs Father John Buerlein as a simple, flawed but honest guy. Coyle works in slight transgressions from Buerlein's past and present to help us suspend our cynicism about the church. It works.Great as Sisto was, Kristin Chenoweth's role was probably the more difficult of the two. The story of her Linda Salerno needed to be told almost exclusively through flashbacks, one confession and a series of ambiguous moments - not many lines to understand, let alone connect with, a troubled and aging high-end prostitute who places absolution high on her checklist of things to do before committing suicide. Chenoweth plain nails it, presents her pain in subtle ways and never tries to be a saint (Sisto's parish, not coincidentally, is a shrine to Mary Magdalene).Overall, there are some small plot imperfections that acting and direction redeem. It's an excellent film, well-worth the time and money.