Verdict
Summary
Challenging, if a little shortsighted in terms of the way the film presents the young deacon character, Mass Appeal is a good little film, thanks to Lemmon’s rock solid performance that really feels ingrained and genuine.
Plot:
A young deacon is taken in under the wing of a complacent priest who sees in him a chance to reinvigorate his faith.
Review:
Father Tim Farley (Jack Lemmon) has it made: His parish is smack in the middle of a swanky neighborhood, and his congregation seems to love him in that he pampers them and doesn’t challenge their faith much at all. He enjoys his life, but is not challenged by it in the least. When a young deacon named Mark Dolson (Zeljko Ivanek) challenges him in the middle of a service, Farley’s equilibrium is offset in a way it hasn’t been in decades. Farley’s Monsignor (Charles Durning) is about to expel Dolson from ever becoming a priest for challenging him as well, but there’s a deeper issue here: Dolson is suspected of being a homosexual, and the Roman Catholic Church believes it would be better and safer to simply remove Dolson before he ever has a chance, despite his earnestness and dedication to being celibate. Farley does something he didn’t think he had the stones for – he vouches for the deacon and offers to instruct him and allow him to give several sermons to his congregation, which ends up being very problematic for Farley as he puts his reputation and his future on the line for this controversial young man who has the ability to really stir people’s hearts in either direction.
Challenging, if a little shortsighted in terms of the way the film presents the young deacon character, Mass Appeal is a good little film, thanks to Lemmon’s rock solid performance that really feels ingrained and genuine. Ivanek’s character could’ve used more fleshing out, as he comes across as a bit undercooked; I didn’t quite always believe the relationship he and Lemon developed in the movie, but I don’t fault Ivanek for that. The script by Bill C. Davis (which is based on his play) might’ve used some more construction, and director Glenn Jordan’s direction, while adequate, is a little pedestrian and feels like a TV movie rather than a cinematic feature. Bill Conti did the delightful score.
Code Red (number 189 on the spine) and Kino Lorber recently released a Blu-ray of Mass Appeal that looks and sounds very solid in high definition. The disc comes with the trailer.
