STIGMATA RATING: 5 / 10 --> Not a good movie
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What you get when you cross a badly-done veiled version of THE EXORCIST with an MTV video directed by a man who might consider Tony Scott, Michael Bay and Simon West as his modern-day directorial heroes? Read on.
PLOT: Mary Jane Nobody gets inflicted by the stigmata, a condition in which a person is physically impaled like Jesus was on the cross. Being an atheist, she doesn't understand why this is happening to her, and neither does the brooding priest/scientist who comes from the Vatican to investigate the supernatural event.
CRITIQUE: The answer to the question from above is that you get STIGMATA, a film which relies mostly on style and mood, and leaves the story element far away in the backseat. I personally do enjoy films with a lot of stylish camera tricks, but this one went a little overboard, with an overabundance of shots featuring water dripping down, tight close-ups, slow motion scenes, quick edits and loud music. This wouldn't have been too bad if the story had enough meat to straddle my interest, but unfortunately, I was bored after the first hour of watching Patricia Arquette get bloodied over and over again, without much else going on. Redundancy, you have a name and it is Stigmata! This film also features a drab resolution, which fortunately for me, I could have cared less about at that time (And were those the worst looking fake flames you have ever seen in the last scene?? Yikes!). One thing's for sure, I ain't much into religion, but I can't imagine anyone from the church being too much of a happy camper after seeing this flick.
On the positive tip, I sure did enjoy the soundtrack which proved that Smashing Pumkin Billy Corgan could sure do a great Trent Reznor impression, and the performance by Patricia Arquette, which was excellent as a cute, hip, young chick who anyone, at least in our generation, could relate to. And how about all of her funky getups and apartment fillers? Very kewl! Byrne was okay as the Jason Miller part from the original EXORCIST, but did they have to toss in a cheesy romance? Not my bag. Anyway, all in all, this film might satisfy some folks who love the MTV-style movies with little plot development despite a lot of movement, and Patricia Arquette fans, but thriller fans, lovers of the supernatural genre, will not find anything to get excited about in this bombastic retread. And despite not appreciating the film's story line, I do mark it higher than usual, because I personally do like Patricia Arquette and enjoyed some of its stylish intent. Unfortunately, the director went too far in this area, believing himself to be directing an action/adventure film instead of a taut thriller.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: I really did not know this fact before I wrote my actual review, but after reading through some of the studio's production notes, it was a nice confirmation to find out that director Rupert Wainwright was once an acclaimed commercial and music video director! Score one for the home team. :) He directed commercials for clients ranging from Reebok and Sprint, to music videos for Michael Jackson and NWA. His first major directing gig was 1994's BLANK CHECK for Walt Disney. Born in Chicago, but raised in Southern California, actress Patricia Arquette is surrounded by actors in her family. Her father Lewis and grandfather Cliff started it all, while her siblings Rosanna, Richmond, David and Alexis continuing it alongside her today. This must be a widely known fact by now, but Patricia has been married to actor Nicolas Cage since 1995. However, the way they got together is quite interesting: Cage proposed to Patricia on the day he met her in the early 80s. Arquette thought he was a bit strange but played along with his antics by creating a list of things Cage would have to fulfil to win her (Like a black rose, J.D. Salinger's autograph, etc...). When he started to work his way through the list, Arquette got scared and avoided him. They met again many years later and later went on to marry. Gabriel Byrne comes straight out of Dublin, Ireland, and professes to be a Catholic. He's also had quite a life. He only started acting at the age of 29 and came to America for the first time when he was 37. Before becoming an actor, he was an archeologist, a schoolteacher, a short-order cook and a bullfighter. He was also married to actress Ellen Barkin for about ten years. Actress Nia Long's career got started by Betty A. Bridges, mother of actor Todd Bridges AKA ex-Different Strokes cast member. Betty was her acting coach for 15 years Billy Corgan's previous experience in composing music for film includes Mel Gibson's RANSOM, which he partly scored. This film was originally titled TOBY'S STORY.
Review Date: September 11, 1999
Director: Rupert Wainwright
Writers: Tom Lazarus and Rick Ramage
Producer: Frank Mancuso Jr.
Actors: Patricia Arquette as Frankie Paige
Gabriel Byrne as Father Andrew Kiernan
Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Daniel Houseman
Genre: Thriller
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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