Entertaining Angels (1996)
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.5 Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 9/27/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:50 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Mild profanity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Moira Kelly, Martin Sheen, Lenny Von Dohlen, Heather Graham, Melinda Dillon, Allyce Beasley, Tracy Walter, Boyd Kestner Director: Michael Ray Rhodes Screenplay: John Wells Cinematography: Mike Fash Music: Bill Conti U.S. Distributor: Paulist Pictures
Not knowing much about the life of Dorothy Day, I approached this bio-pic with interest. Unfortunately, two hours later, while I knew quite a bit more about the woman's life, I felt like I'd been subjected to a dry, unremarkable, text-book retelling of her accomplishments. ENTERTAINING ANGELS has a shallow, TV movie style that reduces what could have been compelling drama to a sadly superficial experience. We learn what Dorothy Day did, but very little about who she really was.
The saving grace is actress Moira Kelly, who has matured considerably in her craft since debuting in the 1991 miniseries, LOVE, LIES, AND MURDER. Kelly is exceptional here, bringing charisma and passion to her portrayal of Day. In her first lead role, she proves to be more than equal to the task. Unfortunately, John Wells' script lets her down. No matter how hard she tries, she can't overcome the constraints placed on her by a pedestrian screenplay and a director who isn't willing to try anything ambitious.
Who was Dorothy Day? Born in 1897, she lived until 1980. For the last fifty years of her life, she was an activist for the homeless. She founded the Catholic Worker newspaper and social organization, both of which are currently still active. During the war years and the decades that followed, she was jailed numerous times for participating in anti- war and anti-nuclear marches. Around the middle of the century, she was widely regarded as a communist, but, by the time of her death, many viewed her as a living saint.
With the exception of brief, bookending scenes that take place in the 1960s, ENTERTAINING ANGELS proceeds in a strictly chronological fashion, starting in 1917 and concluding around 1938. When we first meet Dorothy Day, she's a twenty year old women's rights activist, marching in a suffrage demonstration in New York City. She's a resident of Greenwich Village, hangs out with Eugene O'Neill, entertains numerous lovers, has an illegal abortion, and keeps a second child conceived out of wedlock. In the early 1930s, however, Day converts to Catholicism, abandons her daughter's father when he refuses to marry her, and begins working in soup kitchens. Under the tutelage of philosopher Peter Maurin (Martin Sheen, with a French accent that sounds like it was stolen from one of the PINK PANTHER movies), Day begins printing the Catholic Worker newspaper. As its popularity grows, Day funnels all the money she receives from its publication into soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless.
ENTERTAINING ANGELS was produced by Paulist Pictures, the Catholic organization that formerly made ROMERO. Occasional forays into overt moralizing betray the film's origins. The worst example of this occurs when Dorothy, in a moment of religious crisis, enters an empty church and pours out her concerns in a tearful prayer. It's an embarrassing scene that should have been excised from the final print. Melodramatic and poorly-written, it serves only to remind us that, although even the most devout Christians occasionally doubt their faith, "the Lord will provide."
It can rightfully be claimed that viewing someone's actions tells us a lot about the person. In that sense, ENTERTAINING ANGELS gives a reasonable portrait of its subject. Ultimately, however, too much is skimmed over or completely ignored by this film. We see Day convert, but none of the powerful emotional and spiritual forces leading up to that crucial moment are shown. Likewise, her feelings when she learns that the Catholic Church may be against her movement are perfunctorily dismissed. ENTERTAINING ANGELS is interested exclusively in mundane plot exposition, and, while that functions adequately in giving a loose sense of Day's importance in history, it fails to provide us with a rounded view of the woman who bears the famous name. Because of its limited, constricted view, ENTERTAINING ANGELS is less satisfying than it should be.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"We go away from our parents in youth and then we gradually come back to them; and in that moment, we have grown up." -- Ingmar Bergman
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