anchorlady I think this is the second film I have bothered to review on IMDb, and I've been a member for years. Partly because I was moved, and partly because I was surprised that it was such a quality production.I can't speak to the accuracy of this film, as I did not follow this story when it was happening in Boston. But I was truly amazed that this film managed to cover the ground that it did without ever dipping into the typical sensationalism of made-for-TV films about child abuse, sex scandals, and other "ripped from the headlines" fare.Every performance is remarkably nuanced - no scenery chewing, yet you deeply care for the majority of the characters. Excellent casting. My only complaint is that there were so many characters, it became hard to keep track, and I wanted to know more about some of them than others (although I imagine some characters were "composites").Difficult topics such as the victimization of children by adult authority figures are rarely done as well as this movie. Law and Order SVU and other crime shows should take a few hints from this film.

Panamint Yes its powerful, primarily because the acting is powerful and effective. Anyone in the cast would deserve an acting award.There are script problems. Too many characters and too many individual stories crammed into 2 hours. Some characters have little or no character development. Big mistake to concentrate on media-circus. The media is notoriously shallow and insincere, and it contrasts sharply with the otherwise deep tone of this film. Perp walks and media rabble on the sidewalks will work fine in the Martha Stewart trial movie, but it is way overemphasized here where it seems silly and unnecessary. Probably the writers were trying to show the "American-ness" of the situation but if so they weren't very successful.Danson is great at conveying the essence of the legal aspect. So good that we are reminded that the essence is all we need. Legal detail is great in a Courtroom Drama but that is not what we expect here. Also, you feel like some of the characters are Courtroom Drama-style "witnesses" rather than human beings. A movie with such spiritual aspects should show each character as a human being.Gentle and dignified portrayal of the late Pope. Seems the rest of the Catholic world could not comprehend the depravity and the generally different nature of American society and of this particular monstrous problem.

Gary M. James "Our Fathers", which is based on the book by David France, deserves an epic-size treatment of the sexual abuse of children by some clergy members within the Boston Archdiocese and the politics within the Catholic Church on this matter.The movie is not as powerful as it could have been. That is not to say screenwriter Thomas Michael Donnelly and veteran director Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, The Winds of War, War and Remembrance) totally failed. The scenes of abuse were handled with great sensitivity, they were not gratuitous or exploitive.There are some very heartbreaking moments which include Ellen Burstyn as the mother of seven children who were all abused by one priest. Burstyn only appears in the film for only a few minutes but she makes the most of her scenes. (Update: If the group that awards the Emmys wanted to nominate a short but powerful performance by Burstyn, it should have been this one not the 14 second performance in Mrs. Harris. But I digress.)Also of note, Chris Bauer who plays Olan Horne, one of the victims. He has a scene in which he is taunted by a couple of insensitive men at a local deli. When he graphically describes to them how he was abused, I was almost in tears. Bauer was a standout.Christopher Plummer does a good job playing Cardinal Bernard Law. It would have been very easy to play him as a caricature (which, in my opinion, is what happened with the actors who portrayed the young and adult Fr. Geoghan) and Plummer somehow gave him some sympathetic qualities which made him a bit more complex.My main issue with the movie was the decision by the screenwriter and the director to put so much weight on the legal aspects of the case and the news media's part of reporting the story. It does not mean that those aspects of the story should be ignored. Perhaps it had more to do with the source material. Author David France covered the crisis when he was a senior editor at Newsweek.Because of this, despite some good scenes, I thought Ted Danson performance as Mitchell Garabedian was problematic. I was unable to connect with his character because I was paying more attention to the victims and the clergy. To me, Garabedian is a secondary character who was placed in a lead role. Also, I was very unimpressed with the scenes involving the reporters at the Boston Globe. It felt like a poor imitation of "All The President's Men".There should have been more stories about the adult victims and their families and how these abuses affected their lives. I wished they would have delved more into the politics of the Catholic Church and why the church failed the victims and the reactions of parishioners and how their faith was shaken by this controversy.I also believe that if the movie was performed chronologically and not used flashbacks, it would have been even more powerful and effective. While watching "Our Fathers", I kept thinking about the landmark, two-part film "The Boys of St. Vincent" (1992 and 1993), which told the true story of the sexual abuse of children at a orphanage in Newfoundland, Canada. The orphanage was run by a religious community. The movies also showed how it affected the victims, their families and the abusers 15 years later.Also, I found Brian Dennehy's performance as Father Dominic Spagnolia, the clergyman who publicly criticized Cardinal Law and the Boston Archdiocese's handling of the sexual abuse claims but also had skeletons in his own closet, fiercely charismatic and totally fearless. Dennehy has been one of my favorite actors and when he sinks his teeth into a role, watch out. However, I believe the story of Father Spagnolia deserves a movie of its own.Overall, "Our Fathers" was well-intended but not totally successful.

lavatch Much credit should go to David France and Thomas Michael Donnelly for the book and screenplay for "Our Fathers." The delicate subject matter of pedophilia in the Catholic church and the years of cover-up of the abuses in the hierarchy of the Boston diocese were handled with great sensitivity.Every note of the film rang true, which was due in large part to the stellar cast. Christopher Plummer as Cardinal Law and Brian Dennehy as Father Spagnolia were both standouts. But the smaller roles were noteworthy as well, especially the adult men who were the abuse victims. The long-term effects of the abuse were vividly conveyed by those actors, who played their roles with great feeling and conviction. Ted Danson was very effective as an attorney motivated by the pursuit of justice, as opposed to greed. Even the actor who was faced with the daunting task of playing the late Pope John Paul II was highly credible. This brilliant ensemble was led skillfully under the sensitive direction of Dan Curtis.This could have been a run-of-the-mill, lurid made-for-television film. Instead, it was an enterprise created with integrity by all of the artists involved.