The Sin Eater

When his mentor Dominic (Carnelutti) is found dead in Rome, Priest Alex Bernier (Ledger) is sent by Cardinal Driscoll (Weller) to investigate. Asking his friend Thomas (Addy) to help, the two Carolingian priests, an old order that investigates the paranormal for the Catholic Church, set out to find out how Dominic died. The method of death points to a six hundred year old myth a Sin Eater (Furmann). This man had the power of complete absolution, granting anyone entrance into heaven whatever their sin, as he would bear the burden of that terrible act. The question was why would he kill an old priest who should have no sins to forgive?

A decent sounding plot, a good cast most of which have worked together before and a writer director who has growing reputation, what could go wrong? Everything.

Most of the cast and crew behind the hit A Knights Tale return but gone is the sense of fun and adventure we had in the first collaboration and replacing it is a complete mess of a supernatural, religious drama. Plotlines are introduced and never resolved, the supernatural is shown but never explained and the reasons behind the entire Carolingian order and the Sin Eater himself, are not truly completely explored.

This is the movie's major failing, you just don't know what is going on. Back-stories are only faintly touched upon so you don't really have an understanding of where the plotlines are coming from or going. This leads to a lot of confusion is the first and second acts of the film. The ending tries to clarify some of the points but you still have more questions than you do answers. Who are the demon people, what is the Black Pope going to do when he gains power, what is the real reason behind Mara trying to kill Alex and why is Alex chosen? All these questions and more are posed and never answered.

The cast is strong which is the most disappointing thing. Heath Ledger is an upcoming lead actor that has the star power to carry a movie when the script is up to it. Shannyn Sossamon is a fine actress, Mark Addy is just as good at drama as he is comedy and Peter Weller is as watchable as ever. German actor Benno Furmann shows he has the potential to make it in the US but making his debut in a movie like this might not get him the start he wished for even though he plays a good villain.

The Sin Eater is a complete mess of a movie. Whether this lies with writer/director Brian Helgeland or the studio we will never know but in its current state it is incomprehensible, confusing and a frustrating missed opportunity. Somewhere there is a decent movie trying to get out of this jumbled chaos and I hope it manages to appear later at some point because the cast and the director do deserve more than this.

Audio commentary, 7 deleted scenes with optional audio commentary, Original theatrical trailer, Interactive menus & Scene selection

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2003