³ Stigmata ³ *
I missed a 1 oıclock for ³Stir of Echoes² by six minutes and, not being one to miss a second of the movie-going experience -- Iım talking lights dimming, previews, even that THX thing with the cows (mıI psycho, or what) -- I caught a 1:15 of this film, instead. Mistake.
Produced with an MTV-eye, ³Stigmata² is all photography direction. The story, next to impossible to concentrate on one second to the next because the filmıs visual style is so abrasive, follows Atheist hairdresser Frankie Page (Patricia Arquette) as she becomes ³afflicted² with the titular phenomena. Meaning, wounds of Christ; receive five, and you die. So, the film is more or less a countdown to her death. Well.. why is this happening? As a form of extreme punishment on a non-believer, or a method of _making_ them believe? Dunno. Either way, thatıs not entertaining, itıs depressing. We get loving shots of large nails being hammered into feet and hands, over and over again; divine imagery, right? If it isnıt Arquette getting slashed or impaled, itıs blood dripping into water, water dripping into water (Frankieıs apartment has a convenient leak), or rain -- everything in annoying close-up. Tip: try to make everything look cool (microwaves, candles, coffee cups, more candles.. did I mention water), and nothing does.
As for the gore, I wonder how a movie like this one skirts the NC-17 rating. One scene, featuring an open wound on Arquetteıs wrist that gushes blood so profusely for, like, five seconds, or thereabouts, made me nauseous. That, plus images of carnage scattered throughout at what seemed like two-minute intervals; whereıs the line? A minuteıs worth of sex in greater cinema like ³Eyes Wide Shut² is too obscene for mass audiences, but 100 minutes of bloodshed here isnıt? Oy... the hypocrisy continues.
If anything, I enjoyed Gabriel Byrneıs performance as the priest/scientist/whatever the hell heıs supposed to be. Heıs got a couple reaction takes, off the possessed Frankie, that felt natural. Of course, then they get all doe-eyed toward one another, and flirty, and talk about how he misses sex, and drink beer: how is there time for this? Heıs supposed to be a man of the cloth, what would she see in a -- nevermind.
Bad movie.
Best line(s): ³It only bleeds when I touch it.²
³Then, donıt touch it.²
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