The Monk Review

29th Mar 2012

Vincent Cassell shrugs off his customary hard man role to play Brother Ambrosio. Abandoned at the steps of a monastery as a baby, he grows up with one ambition, to join their Order. Not only is he accepted, he quickly establishes himself as a pious saint, renowned for his earnest sermons and absolute faith. All this is threatened by the arrival of the mysterious Brother Valerio, a stranger in a mask that can never be removed.

Cassell is absolutely arresting as a devout monk whose faith is seemingly inpenetratable. His opening scenes are commanding, with Cassell hearing a lurid confession in the darkness. Initially, the script is absolutely airtight and Cassell delivers his lines with such utter conviction that it’s hard not to be drawn in like the faithful followers. Even his condemnation of Agnes, the pregnant Nun seems fair enough when seen through his eyes.

The introduction of Brother Valerio is initially subtle and terrifying, his mask doing all the work. Initially enough is unsaid for there to be enough tension and a sense that something terrible is going to happen, and Valerio is behind it. Even his unmasking leaves you with the sense that this is only the beginning of Ambrosio’s downfall.

But then the last half hour destroys the momentum of the film with too much exposition and gimmickery. Fans of religious horror are going to be frustrated with the basic storyline and a cop-out ending that happens in ten minutes. If anything, and I don’t usually advocate this, but it feels like Ambrosio should go further into his spiral of sin to really earn his fall from grace.

Parts of it feel more like a fairy-tale than a morality lesson and unfortunately the story isn’t strong enough to carry it through to the end of the film. It’s almost as if the well-paced beginning left no time for a conclusion and so they just rushed it all at the end.

This is a real shame as Cassell is impressive, the early dialougue is compelling and the cinematography beautiful. A little more mystery would have been all it would have taken, and perhaps stripping out the trial at the end, which took all of a minute. A disappointing end to a film that began promisingly; perhaps we can hope for a longer Director’s cut.