Calvary (2014) - full transcript
Father James is a small-town priest in Ireland whose Sunday confessionals suddenly include a threat to kill him in a week's time as a matter of principle. Deeply troubled and conflicted about how to respond, Father James tries to go on with his calling through that week. However, that proves impossible as he is confronted with a troubling variety of spiritual challenges from both his estranged daughter and his own parishioners. In those dispiriting struggles, Father James' life begins to fall apart as time runs out towards a confrontation that seems to crystallize his values and what he wants his life to be.
I first tasted semen
when I was 7 years old.
Nothing to say?
It's certainly
a startling opening line.
What's that, irony?
I'm sorry,
let's start again.
What do you want to say to me?
I'm here to listen to
whatever you have to say.
I was raped by a priest
when I was 7 years old.
Orally and anally,
as they say in the court reports.
This went on for 5 years.
Every other day for 5 years.
I bled a lot, as you can imagine.
I bled a terrible amount.
Have you spoken to
anyone about this?
I'm speaking to you. Now.
I mean, have you
sought professional help?
Why, so I could learn how to cope?
So I could learn
how to live with it?
Maybe I don't want to cope.
Maybe I don't want to learn
how to live with it.
Why don't you make a formal complaint?
You can testify.
The man's dead.
I don't know what to say to you.
I have no answer for you,
I'm sorry.
What good would it do anyway,
if he were still alive?
What would be the point
in killing the bastard?
That would be no news.
There's no point in killing a bad priest.
But killing a good one?
That would be a shock now.
They wouldn't know
what to make of that.
I'm going to kill you, Father.
I'm gonna kill you
because you've done nothing wrong.
I'm gonna kill you
because you're innocent.
Not right now, though.
I'll give you enough time
to put your house in order.
Make your peace with God.
Sunday week, let's say.
I'll meet you down on the beach.
Down by the water.
Killing a priest
on a Sunday.
That'll be a good one.
Do you not have anything
to say to me, Father?
Not right now, no.
But I'm sure I'll
think of something by Sunday week.
Body of Christ.
Body of Christ.
- Body of Christ.
- Amen.
- Body of Christ.
- Amen.
- Body of Christ.
- Amen.
A little too much wine
in the chalice again, there, Michael.
Sorry, Father.
I'm wondering is this some
kind of ploy on your behalf.
Ploy, Father?
I've noticed my stocks
of booze appear to be
somewhat diminished
of late.
Is this some kind of ploy
to cover up for the wine you've
been imbibing on the QT.
I have no idea what
you're talking about.
Father Leary
noticed nothing amiss.
Father Leary does not know you
as well as I do, Michael.
He may well underestimate the depths
of your Machiavellian chicanery.
Can I go now, Father?
What's the hurry?
Have they called a meeting
at Mafia Headquarters?
On your way.
Things you hear in
confession these days.
Hmm.
It's depressing.
You have to detach
yourself from it.
We're here to provide solace.
Your personal feelings don't come into it.
I know that.
What do you take me for?
It's difficult, though. The mess
people make of their lives.
What's the problem? Without
going into details, obviously.
Your one with the big black eye on her.
Have you seen her?
Veronica Brennan. Yeah.
She's an odd one.
Things she comes out with.
It's like she's trying to
drag you down into the muck.
Do you know what felching is?
I do know what felching is, yeah.
I had to look it up.
This is you not
going into details is it?
Sorry.
Anyway, whatever's going on
it's obviously all gotten out of hand.
She's getting
knocked around now.
Well if you say anything
to her she'll raise holy hell...
...say it was the basis of something
she said to you in confession.
We can't have that. She'll get
me excommunicated, the cow.
I'll have a word with her.
Jack as well.
Part of my pastoral duties
and what have you.
Nothing to do with her
confession or anything.
See what's going on.
Hmm.
That colored fella,
the Ugandan?
He's one of
her lovers, I think.
Simon's from the Ivory Coast.
Right, right. I knew
it was that, or Guyana.
One of those African countries.
Guyana is in South America.
I don't think so, Father.
I was always pretty good
at the auld geography.
Not bad.
Surprisingly.
I was expecting a daub.
Who are these two lads?
Don't know. I'm reading
these ghost stories.
Maybe it's got
something to do with that.
Spooky.
So, do you know who it was?
Yes, I know who it was.
Do you know him well?
Well enough.
Knowing this man as you do,
do you think it was an idle threat?
I don't know.
I'm not sure.
Not sure means it's possible.
Yes, I suppose.
You didn't grant him
absolution, obviously.
He didn't ask for it.
Well there you have it.
The man is not penitent.
There is no contrition.
He's threatening
to commit a crime,
not asking for
forgiveness for one.
The inviolability of the
sacramental seal does not apply.
You're saying I should
go to the police?
I'm not saying anything, James.
The choice is yours.
Don't tell me.
You made the classic error.
You're supposed to cut down,
not across.
This is Bruno.
And I always wanted
a fast car. A red one.
I thought you'd already
had your mid-life crisis.
This old world
may never change
The way it's been
And all the ways of war
Can't change it back again
You're a very
nice-looking young woman.
Thank you.
I like your bow-tie.
It's got polka-dots.
This is my daughter, Fiona, Milo.
She's over from London.
You're having me on.
I'm not having you on.
What are you on about?
But you're a priest.
I was married
before I became a priest.
My wife and I had a child, Fiona.
My wife died.
And after that I joined
the priesthood.
You can do that,
can you?
It would appear so.
Don't tell me. You made
the classic error.
I've already done
that gag, Frank.
You're supposed to cut down.
I said I've already done it!
Now, now!
A drop of the hard
stuff for yourself.
And a generous serving of
the auld water of life
for this beautiful,
yet troubled...
Oh, fuck off.
You've an exceedingly dirty mouth.
I like that in a hoor.
Brendan.
Now's not the time.
Whatever you say, Father.
You're the boss.
How's that working out for you?
I haven't been on
the tear in a good while.
So you say.
No, no, I've been a very good lad.
And don't change the subject.
What was the subject?
You know what the subject was.
Oh, Daddy, a man.
A man. What else.
It's getting to
be a habit, honey.
I know. It's pathetic.
I can't do anything right.
Nice shades.
Do they make me
look like Jackie O?
Not really, no.
This what you came to gawp at?
Nasty, huh?
An interesting color.
They say you can find beauty in
everything, if you look hard enough.
Well I'd say you can find
beauty in most things...
...not everything.
That's nonsense.
What would I know? I'm
just an auld washerwoman.
Listen, if you don't want
to talk to me, that's fine.
I'm not here to compel
you to do anything.
You never know,
Father...
maybe I'd like
to be compelled.
Maybe I'd enjoy it.
I'll have a word with Jack. See
what he has to say for himself.
Grand Inquisitor, huh? Go
on ahead for yourself so.
I'm sure he'll be
only too pleased
to have someone else
to bore the ears off.
I stopped listening
to his auld shite a long time ago.
That's how it is, is it?
I'm sorry, I didn't realize.
You thought we were
another Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier?
Well now, that wasn't
a very happy marriage,
so it's not a great analogy.
That's what I've always
liked about you, Father.
You're just a little too
sharp for this parish.
Mad fella he was.
Decapitated the two of them. Blood
all over the place.
Hiya, Father.
Jack.
Could I have a word...
in private?
Sounds ominous.
Where's Johnnie Cochran
when you need him, huh?
I hope we don't
get locked in here.
We'll have to make
love to keep warm.
I had a word
with Veronica, Jack.
You were out to the house, were you?
ls everything all right?
Everything's fine. I mean,
no, everything's not fine.
Mass on Sunday, with the
shades and everything?
Ah, that.
Yes, that.
Are you laying into her
or what's going on?
That wasn't me, now.
No, no, that's that
Black fella that
she's been seeing.
The colored fella
she's been seeing.
I didn't mean to be racist.
That was a slip of the tongue.
Are you saying he beats her up?
Don't quote me,
but that's what
I'm assuming. Yeah.
I mean, she speaks in
riddles half of the time,
I can't make any
sense out of her.
I think she's bi-polar, or
lactose-intolerant, one of the two.
I don't know where I am
with her any more, Father.
And if I'm honest with you, I'm kinda
glad to have her off my hands.
What, even if this new
fella's knocking her about?
But what's that
to do with me?
What?
Not everyone can carry
the weight of the world.
What about your marriage?
The oaths you took?
Listen.
She's happier now
that she's seeing him.
A lot more settled down,
a lot calmer.
And I'm not under
surveillance any more.
I can just reel in
whatever time I like.
So everybody's happy.
Where's the harm in that?
Shall I cut you a side
of beef to take home?
It's freshly slaughtered.
Simon.
Hello, Father.
I'm rather busy today.
It's not about my car.
It's about Mrs. Brennan.
You're her boyfriend?
I fuck her from time to time.
Does that make me her boyfriend?
Does around here.
She has a lot of boyfriends,
so I've heard.
Is that right?
Do you want me
to confess to adultery?
Is that why you are here?
Somebody beat her up.
She told you I beat her up?
No, she didn't.
Then why are you here?
Somebody beat her up.
It's either you
or the husband.
I do not think Jack beat her up.
He's not the type.
What is the type?
Some of them like to be hit,
you know.
Who?
White women.
Irish women.
Do not ask me why.
You would have to be a psychiatrist.
- That's nonsense.
- No, no, they like to be hit.
In certain situations
they beg for it, in fact.
So she got what was coming to her,
did she?
I was speaking generally.
Oh, you were speaking generally.
Well I'm speaking specifically.
- Don't do it again.
- You cannot tell me what to do.
We're not in the Missions now.
Oh, the Missions, right.
Are you going to chop off
my hand if I disobey you?
You know your history,
that's grand.
I like to read.
You probably think
that Black people cannot
Yeah, Black people, White people,
blah, blah, blah.
Run along now, Father.
Your sermon is finished.
Better watch your step there.
Why is that?
Well, if it was him
who was laying into her,
you'll have to tread
very carefully there.
It's a very sensitive area.
You'll have to explain
this to me, Father.
I'm afraid you've
lost me completely.
The Church can't be seen to be getting
involved in matters of diversity.
Do you know?
Oh, you mean if beating her up is
one of those ethnic rituals or something?
Like when they do that thing
when they shake hands?
You're mocking me now, I can tell.
We have to be very circumspect in
those areas, is all I'm saying.
Oh, I'll be very circumspect, Father.
Don't you worry about that.
That's why he said
I need someone to love me
Need somebody to carry me home
To San Francisco
How is all?
At death's door. You?
Same.
Still using the old typewriter, I see.
Bit of an affectation.
My whole life has
been an affectation.
That's one of those
lines that sounds witty
but doesn't actually
make much sense.
Caught out again.
How's the latest
masterpiece coming?
Better than Cecelia Ahern,
but not as good as Banville.
You could say
that about everybody.
Now what have you got for me?
Ooh.
Oh!
Need anything else?
A gun.
Huh?
A Walther PPK should suffice.
James Bond's weapon of choice.
Old Adolf killed himself
with one in the bunker.
That's the plan, is it?
I've no intention
of writhing around
in agony for hours on end
when the time comes.
Not knowing who I am
or where I am.
Nonsense.
Pragmatism.
Where would I get a gun from?
Oh, come on now,
give me a break.
You've never been short of guns
in this country, have you?
God, you're awful maudlin
today, I must say.
You don't have any photographs.
No.
I'm in agreement with the
Apaches on that score.
The Apaches?
The Apaches.
The Arapaho.
The Hunkpapa Sioux.
Not even one of mum?
I don't need a photograph
to remember your mother.
Memories fade, though.
That's what's so
terrible about them.
No, they don't.
Not really.
I should buy a cane.
It would suit you. You're
old beyond your years.
Give me a feeling
of imperiousness.
And you could lean on it.
I could lean on it.
Reflectively.
Point things out.
Club someone to death with it.
A blunt instrument, yeah.
Who, though?
A certain young man
from Rathmines.
Aren't all instruments blunt?
Flugelhorns?
Who's this now?
This is my daughter,
Fiona.
Oh, right. Like a French
novel or something.
What was the fella's name?
Bernanos.
Michael Fitzgerald.
I bought the big house
up the road.
Haven't seen you
at Mass recently...
I've been too busy.
I was thinking of getting a
chapel built on the grounds.
Like Brideshead Revisited.
Then you could pop in freelance.
Save me the trouble.
Lovely creature.
Really expensive, too.
Prime horse flesh this is.
Interesting man,
your father.
That right?
A fine man. Nobody round here has
a bad word to say about him.
Makes you wonder
what he's hiding.
God, you're a fucking prick.
Oh, feisty! I'm only codding.
No offense meant, as they say.
Father, swing by
the house one afternoon.
I have a proposition
might interest you.
- Really?
- Yes, really.
A financial proposition.
That interests you, doesn't it?
It would be a black day
when the Catholic Church is no
longer interested in money.
Huh?!
Inspector Stanton.
The clergy at this time
of the night.
When I could be
getting up to all sorts.
Well, hey, Fada. Whaddaya hear,
whaddaya say!
I'm sorry. I didn't
realize you had company.
It's only little Leo.
You checking out
my ass, Fada?
No.
He's only messing with you, Father.
What can I do for you?
Oh, I've nothing to hide from Leo.
Have I, Leo?
Your life's an open book, Gerry.
Like your ass.
Is this a police matter, Father?
No, it's a personal...
a personal thing.
It's a personal,
a personal thing.
You look worried, Fada.
My advice, take it on the lamaster, huh.
You don't wanna drop in
for the phonus-balonus
and wind up with a sock in the kisser.
Get me?
He's not in the mood, Leo.
Maybe I can cheer up
the old sourpuss.
I'll show you a good time, Fada.
'Good Time Leo', that's me.
Although it'll be extra if I
let you wear the cassock.
I know what you holy-rollers
are like when you get going.
Hell's bells, mama!
I'm outta here.
He's a character, huh?
What's troubling you, Father?
You seem agitated.
I need a favor.
My great-grandfather's.
Said he took it off
one of the Cairo Gang
when they shot them all
on Bloody Sunday.
The first Bloody Sunday,
obviously.
You ever had call to use it?
Yeah.
I killed a man with it once
in the Wicklow Mountains.
What case was that?
He was just pissing me off.
Somebody been threatening you, Father?
What have you been up to now?
Not you as well, huh?
What did you say you
wanted it for, Father?
I didn't say.
I'd say you wanted it
for your dog.
The dog's dying.
It's in pain.
You're worried you may have to put it
out of its misery one of these days.
Isn't that right?
My dog's dying.
It's in pain.
I'm worried I might have to put it
out of its misery one of these days.
An act of compassion?
Well I can't argue with that.
I'm a compassionate man myself.
- I had one of those, you know. Early on.
- One of what?
Pedophile priest.
20 years ago now this was, in Dublin.
Young girl made a complaint.
A rape.
What happened?
What do you think happened?
I arrested the bastard,
48 hours later
I was packing my bags
and making my way out West.
They moved you on?
Reassigned, yeah.
What happened to him?
I was told they were sending him
to one of the missions overseas.
Africa.
He could do whatever he
wanted over there, I suppose.
Thanks, anyway.
Like the man in the
dicky bow says, Father,
"Protect yourself at all times".
How long have you
been at this craic?
Last couple of years.
Supposed to be therapeutic.
Maybe I should take it up.
Maybe you should.
Are you seeing someone in London?
I assume you mean
professionally rather than...
Just stop all
this carry-on.
If you can't talk to me,
you should talk to someone.
I suppose I should.
Enjoying yourselves?
Yeah, we are, yeah.
Lovely day.
It is in deed, yeah.
Stamps.
That's the future
of the priesthood.
Milo.
I need to speak to you,
Father.
Take a pew. Literally.
Why do people
kill themselves, Father?
"Why do people
kill themselves?"
That's jumping
in at the deep end.
Lots of reasons, I suppose.
Why do you think yourself?
I dunno.
Drink. Depression.
Lack of sex, maybe.
You're a presentable young man.
I wouldn't have thought
you'd have much trouble.
I don't have the gift of the gab.
Never had it.
That's making you feel suicidal?
More bored than anything else.
It's either committing
suicide or joining the Army.
Well those are pretty
drastic choices either way.
You can learn a trade
if you join the Army.
You can learn a trade
if you don't join the Army.
You can experience more of life.
You think you can become
a more authentic person
by fighting in a war?
By killing people?
You're against me joining the
Army, is what I'm sensing.
Well let's put it this way.
I've always felt there's
something psychopathic...
...about someone who joins
the Army in peacetime.
People join the Army
because they want
to find out what it's
like to kill someone.
I hardly think
that's an inclination
that should be encouraged
in modern society, do you?
Jesus Christ
didn't think so either.
And the commandment
'thou shalt not kill'
does not have
an asterisk beside it...
...referring you
to a footnote
where you'll find
a list of instances
where it's okay to kill people.
What about self-defense?
That's a tricky one
all right.
We're hardly being invaded,
though, are we?
The war on terror
has no borders.
I don't think Sligo is too high
on Al-Qaeda's agenda,
Milo, do you?
Who knows what goes on
in the Muslim mind?
I have had murderous feelings,
though, I have to admit.
Not getting laid.
It's starting to make me feel
really angry towards women.
And so I thought
if I join the Army,
those inclinations
would be seen as a plus.
On your application.
They don't come right out and say
that's what they're looking for.
In the advertisements it's all about
seeing the world and all that shite.
Wanting to murder
someone would be
like having
a degree in engineering.
It would outweigh my
lack of qualifications.
Right.
Do you use pornography at all?
I've exhausted all the
possibilities of pornography.
- All of them?
- Well, nearly all of them.
I'm on to transsexual
pornography at the moment.
Chicks with dicks,
you know?
Maybe there's
a simpler solution.
Leave home.
Go where your chances of
meeting women with loose morals
are increased proportionately.
Sligo town, do you mean?
No.
I was thinking more
Dublin, London, New York.
New York?
I'd only end up getting Aids
knowing my luck.
Thanks for taking the time
to talk to me, Father.
I can't say it's
been much help.
It's good to get these things
out in the open, I suppose.
FITZGERALD; Pull!
Pull!
Pull!
They've all
left me, you know.
That's why the place
is so empty.
Like a tomb.
Who's left you?
The wife. The kids.
Even Consuela,
and she's from Ecuador.
So you'd think
she wouldn't have
that many options,
but apparently not.
I'm sorry to hear that.
You mentioned
a financial proposition?
I'd like to make amends.
Do penance for past sins.
Although...
I suppose all sins are past,
otherwise they wouldn't be sins,
they'd just be...
...evil thoughts floating around
in your mind.
Why do you wear the auld soutane,
by the way?
Are you trying to make
a statement or something?
Look at this watch. Here.
That's making a statement.
That's a Tag Heuer. Very expensive.
Are you gonna get to the point, Mr.
Fitzgerald,
or are you just
going to ramble on?
Let me ask you a question.
What do you see
when you look at me?
I'll tell you what you see.
You see a handsome,
sophisticated,
eminent man in
the prime of his life.
A colossus, let's say.
A colossus who once bestrode
the world of high finance
...and became profoundly
influential in certain spheres...
...not to say
inordinately wealthy,
not to say sickeningly
wealthy, let's face it.
Are you sure I can't tempt you?
I'll stick to the water.
I heard you liked a drink.
I liked it too much.
There's no such
thing as too much.
There's only not enough!
Where was I?
Talking about money,
what else.
Now, now.
Got out in time, did you? Before
it all came crashing down?
It was the perfect
getaway, Father.
They say charges are going
to be filed against me
for various so-called
irregularities...
...but sure the Guards are always
threatening guff like that.
They'd have to
charge half the financiers
and half the bank managers
along with them...
...then troop into Government
and charge those cunts as well.
And that's not gonna happen.
No, there'll be no punishment
forthcoming for a man such as myself.
There never is.
Still, I do feel a modicum of
guilt about the whole thing.
A modicum. Do you?
Well...
...I feel like I ought
to feel guilty.
And isn't that the same thing?
I love this one.
Really expensive.
Not quite sure what it's
supposed to mean, though.
Why does it have
to mean anything?
Everything has to mean something,
otherwise what's the point?
Of course, I don't have
to know what it means.
I own it.
That's enough.
That's all that matters?
Ownership? Possession?
How much land does the Church own?
How much gold?
That's the Church,
that's not me.
You are a representative of
the Church, are you not?
If you say so.
I do say so, yes.
I think you're
a very judgmental man, Father.
Yes, I am.
But I try not to be.
You think I don't have any feelings?
You think I don't care...?
I think you don't want
to do penance at all.
I think you asked me here
to make fun of me.
But when you do want to
do penance, sincerely...
...you can give me a call,
at any time,
and I'll try my best
to help you.
I could piss on this,
you know.
I said I love it, I don't. It
doesn't mean anything to me.
I could take it down right
now and piss on it.
Do you want me to
do that, do you?
Why would I want
you to do that?!
I don't know.
So I can have some sort of
'spiritual revelation'?
Some sort of
fucking epiphany? Huh?
Okay. Let's go.
All right.
I'll give you an epiphany.
Well, I don't know now.
People like you have pissed on
everything else, I suppose,
so why not that, too?
You have your totems,
I see.
Who is it?
French couple. Head on.
She was totally unscathed.
He got fucked.
Wrong side of the road?
Car full of young ones hit them.
Drunk, of course.
How many?
5. And I'm
including the Frenchman.
Dear God.
Marine biologist he was.
That's where I'd like to be.
Under the sea.
Where are the young ones?
The morgue.
Best place for them.
Every life is sacred,
Frank, for God's sake.
Now, some are less
sacred than others.
Through this holy anointing...
...may the Lord in
His love and mercy
help you with
the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
May the Lord who
frees you from sin save you...
- ...and raise you up.
- Amen.
Have you performed
the Last Rites many times?
Yes.
Usually with older people,
of course.
You have time to prepare for it.
Everybody knows what's coming.
It is easier?
It's never easy.
More understandable,
let's say.
Less unfair.
Situations like this one...
...people are shocked.
The randomness of it.
They curse God.
Curse their fellow man.
They lose their faith
in some cases.
They lose their faith?
It must not have been
much of a faith to begin with,
if it is so easy
for them to lose it.
Yes, but...
but what is faith?
For most people it's the fear of death,
nothing more than that.
If that's all it is,
it's very easy to lose.
He was a good man,
your husband?
Yes.
He was a good man.
We had a very good life together.
We loved each other very much.
And now...
...he has gone.
And that is not unfair.
That is just what happened.
But many people...
don't live good lives.
They don't feel love.
That is what is unfair.
I feel sorry for them.
Will you say
a prayer with me, Teresa?
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou
amongst women.
Blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners...
...now and at
the hour of our death. Amen.
Finished with all
your gobbledegook?
How is she holding up?
She's a strong woman.
Good-looking, too.
I could be in there.
I have a thing for widows.
Did I ever tell you?
I think you might have done.
Your material is getting
a little stale after all.
The atheistic doctor,
it's a clichéd part to play.
There aren't that
many good lines.
One part humanism
to nine parts gallows humor.
Playing you, though, now...
that might be interesting.
Playing me. Who's 'me'?
The good priest.
Excuse me, won't you.
I have to go kill somebody.
How long was I out?
Ages. Eons.
Did I ever tell you the story
about Fionn Mac Cumhaill...
...and another big strong lad
called Cicsatoin?
They were up at the top of...
They were at the top
of the Ox Mountains.
Cicsatoin challenged Fionn to throw
a boulder into the sea at Easkey,
claiming that he couldn't do it.
Fionn accepted the challenge.
Cicsatoin's boulder
landed on the shore...
...creating such waves that the
sea has not been the same since...
...which is why
the Easkey coastline
is internationally
renowned for its surfing.
Fionn's boulder landed short.
Landed here.
He drew his sword. Split the rock in two.
And it's said...
...that should
someone be foolhardy
enough to pass
through the rock 3 times
...they will be squished
into tiny little lumps.
Unceremoniously.
Not a lot of poetry in that recital.
Not a lot of romance.
I'm sick to death of romance.
There was a Japanese writer,
committed suicide.
He wrote out
a list beforehand of
all the famous suicides
throughout history.
He included Christ.
Sounds like a smartarse.
In the Middle Ages they would have
said I was possessed by demons.
Maybe you were.
Maybe they were nearer
the mark back then.
You think what happened
was unimportant.
Insignificant in
the great scheme of things.
To provoke such a reaction.
But what may...
But what may mean nothing to you
may be very important to me.
I'd never say it was unimportant.
I'd just say the choices you
make when you're 30...
...are not the same choices
you make when you're 60.
That's irrelevant.
Every moment of living has its
own logic, its own meaning.
Maybe so.
Maybe you're right there.
I'll have to think about that.
It's a tired old argument,
I suppose.
But what about
those you leave behind?
I belong to myself,
not to anybody else.
True.
False.
You'll tell me it would have
been a mortal sin, I suppose.
Would I have suffered
eternal damnation, Father?
God is great.
The limits of His mercy
have not been set.
Is this where you
want to be buried?
Why in hell
would I want to be buried
in a God-forsaken
place like this?
Where then? Père Lachaise?
Next to dear old Oscar?
No. Next to Apollinaire
and Max Ophüls.
Oh, very fancy,
I must say.
I have your gun for you,
by the way.
Yeah, right.
I do so.
Webley. Circa 1920.
Still in good working order, though.
Or so I've been told
by a man who would know.
Well, hand it over, then.
I don't have it on me.
I knew it. Worried I might
follow through with it, huh?
You might take a potshot
at me, for all I know.
Why would I do that?
What have you
ever done to me
except talk garbage?
That doesn't mean anything.
Bloody idiots can't
even be bothered
coming up with a reason
for murder these days.
Wake up in a foul mood
and it's bang bang bang.
Oh, I don't know about that. Some
people have very good reasons.
Which of the lads
are you here to see, Father?
Freddie Joyce.
Freddie Joyce. He m...
I know who he is.
What in the hell do
you wanna see him for?
He's an old pupil of mine.
He asked to see me.
You know I've
asked them to hang me.
There's no capital punishment in
Ireland, Freddie, as you well know.
Why do you want
them to hang you?
Because that's
the way Lesley Ryan died.
Are you saying
you feel remorse?
I'm not a monster.
Do I look like a monster?
What do monsters look like?
I had the cops in here
the other day.
The third degree. Wanting to
go over all the gory details.
Which I'm sure you were
only too happy to provide.
They're obsessed
with cannibalism.
"What did it taste like?"
I told them it tasted like pheasant.
A bit gamey.
Good for you.
Make a joke about it.
Why were they...?
It's the same as always.
They wanna know
where the last one is.
The one they never found.
The one I connected up.
Why can't you
tell them, Freddie?
Give the family
some kind of peace.
I wanted to, Father, but...
...for the life of me I cannot
remember where I put it.
I know it was in
the woods somewhere.
Where did I leave my keys?
No! I wasn't in
my right mind.
You know, LSD. It was like a...
fairytale.
You said all that at the trial, Freddie.
Getting kind of tiresome now.
She was a lovely...
...she was a lovely girl.
You know she told me
that she'd been abused before.
So I says, "Well, once more
won't make any difference then".
You see the light go
out in their eyes...
and you become God.
No you don't!
No- you- don't.
Why am I here?!
I just wanted
someone to talk to.
I don't think you
feel any guilt whatsoever
about anything
that you've done.
No, I do. I do, Father.
I believe what
the Bible teaches.
I believe that if I repent my sins
that I'll be forgiven...
...and I'll be able
to go up to Heaven
and I'll see those girls and
I'll tell them how sorry I am.
And I'll hug them
and I'll kiss them
and I'll love them
with a real true love...
...and I'll have no desire
to hurt them in any way.
God made me, didn't he?
I mean, didn't he?
So he understands me.
He must do.
Don't you think?
I think if God
can't understand you, Freddie...
...no-one can.
You know they're
foreclosing on me.
Who?
The banks. Who else?
Sorry to hear that.
How come I never hear your
mob preaching about that?
About what?
All these bankers that have
brought the country to its knees.
Still throwing people out of their
homes for not making their payments.
I never hear your mob
talking about that.
Those are sins,
too, aren't they?
Yes, they are.
I suppose... when
you've a history of
screwing the Jews
out of their money...
...and collaborating
with the Nazis,
it's like the
pot calling the kettle black, huh?
I suppose it is.
Getting full use out of your
library card there, Brendan.
The library's been shut down.
Did you not hear?
Cutbacks.
You not dancing, Milo?
I don't like this music.
What music do you like?
Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton's good, yeah.
Great cocaine.
Very moreish.
Purely medicinal, Father.
How was your man Joyce?
It's been a tough day,
let's put it that way.
How can you hope to connect
with someone like that?
Who are you talking about?
Not Freddie Joyce?
I visited him in prison today.
Why?
Prisoners deserve spiritual guidance
as much as anyone else.
Maybe more so.
Is that right?
So they can find God...
...and then say God has absolved them
of all their sins...
...and what they did
didn't really matter
anyways because
now they're saved?
Something like that, yeah.
Calm down. You don't know
what you're talking about.
Would you mind the drinks!
For Christ's sake!
He's had that coming a long time.
You know yourself.
Fine-looking man.
I'd watch yourself around him.
I gave up cocaine
a long time ago.
You took cocaine?
Come on. Let's dance.
What did they call it
in your day, jive? Come on.
Forgive me, Father,
for I have sinned.
Say one Our Father
and ten Hail Marys.
I've sinned more than that.
Make an ascent of Croagh Patrick, then,
on your knees.
On my knees, is it?
What made you say that?
Your church is on fire.
Fuck off, Brendan,
I'm not in the mood.
Your church is on fire!
Jesus Christ.
I've called the fire brigade, Father.
For all the good it'll do.
They'll never get here in time.
Why didn't anybody see?
Daddy, stay away.
Daddy, come away!
Why didn't anybody see?
They're probably
gonna blame you for this.
Professional job.
I'll say that for them.
Any fool can start a fire,
for fuck's sake.
Who would do
a thing like this?
Somebody with a grudge
against the Church, obviously.
That could be half the country.
Unless there's a personal angle.
How do you mean?
Nobody with a grudge
against you, Father, no?
Who would have
a grudge against you?
Maybe this is the future, huh?
Maybe it'll all
be ruins one day.
Maybe one day kids will say
to their parents in amazement,
they used to believe in what?
An auld lad
up in the sky?
And if we're good
we'll go to Heaven?
And if we're bad
we'll go to Hell?
You know for a policeman
you seem to
know very little
about human nature.
Maybe you're right.
You'd know more than me.
But don't touch anything now.
I'll have to get the forensic boys down...
...the supercilious pricks.
What do we do now?
We'll have to rebuild it,
I suppose.
Maybe use bricks next time.
Might be a good idea.
Ah God, Father.
Is this about the coke?
I can take it or leave it.
Really?
Yeah. Most people can.
The only ones who can't
had problems to begin with.
We shouldn't write
them off, though,
the ones with problems
to begin with.
What do you want to do
with your life, Veronica?
Nothing.
'Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow
'They toil not,
neither do they spin.'
Very nice quotation.
Ah sure, everybody
knows that one.
It's hackneyed, yeah.
Like 'turn the other cheek'
or 'judge not, lest ye be judged'.
I'd like to be
an actress, maybe.
I've an absent father
and a domineering mother.
That's a start.
When did your dad leave?
He didn't leave,
he was killed.
Murdered?!
Hunting accident.
Completely random.
So there's no use persevering, Father.
I'm a lost cause.
No-one is a lost cause,
Veronica.
Who is it?
I don't know who it is.
You said you did.
I have no evidence
it's the same man.
It's the same man.
Takes a lot of nerve
to burn down a church.
Helps if you have a burning sense
of grievance,
if you'll pardon the...
We have to ask ourselves,
what does this man want?
Well, he wants to be loved, of course.
We all want to be loved.
Failing that,
he wants to be... admired.
Failing that,
he wants to be feared.
Failing that, he wants to
be hated and despised.
We should beware
the man who wants to
be hated and despised.
Don't you think?
I think you read that in
a book, Your Excellency.
I think he wants to
stir up some sort of
feeling in others,
that's true.
Doesn't want to be
ignored any more.
Wants to make contact.
He made contact
all right.
Who is it?
Dreadful business,
I must say.
Some little blackguard running
riot, I wouldn't wonder.
What can you do in
this day and age?
True dat.
Sorry about
the other day, Father.
That was the drink talking.
What can we do for you?
It's off the back
of what I was saying.
And it seems more
necessary now than ever.
I'd like to make a donation.
Oh!
That would be grand.
To salve your conscience?
Surely that's in the nature
of all philanthropy.
The expiation of guilt.
I'm sure you've nothing major to
feel guilty about, Mr. Fitzgerald.
Oh, you'd be surprised, Father.
Call me Michael.
Michael it is. Any charity is
always gratefully received.
I know.
I believe that's
Church doctrine.
We all know the Church needs
all the help it can get,
especially these days.
Why would you say that?
Well, with all the compensation
that's been paid out
over the last few years.
And that's only the Yanks. And we
all know they weren't the worst.
I don't know about that, now.
And most of those cases
were 40 or 50 years ago.
Raking up old ground
it always seemed to me.
Time to forgive and forget.
I agree, I agree.
What's past is past.
Time to move on.
Et cetera, et cetera.
Would you like a cup of tea, Michael,
or maybe something stronger?
Do you have any crystal meth?
No, no, I can't stop.
So what are
we talking about? 10?
20?
20,000?
20,000 euros, yeah.
Well, that would be grand.
That would help with getting the
initial building work off the ground.
20 it is then.
This is a David Oscarson pen.
It's really expensive.
Oh, it's lovely.
Why not make it 50?
Ah now, Father.
If money's no object,
make it 50.
Why not make it 100?
It means nothing to me.
I know it doesn't.
100,000 euros for your pet project, Father.
What do you say to that?
I say thank you,
Mr. Fitzgerald.
What was Stanton getting at?
If I could tell you I would.
You know that.
I thought I was the one supposed
to be in trouble, not you.
How's the fish?
Too many little bones.
Isn't that always the way.
I'm not stopping.
Meeting the fella.
You're informing me of
your adultery in advance?
Isn't that more honest
than in the confessional
when it's all done and dusted...
...and there's nothing
you can do about it?
What are you expecting
him to do about it?
Stop me from committing
a mortal sin.
You have to stop yourself.
I can't stop you.
Then what good are you at all?
There's my ride, as it were.
Let's do this again sometime.
Do you have to put up with that
kind of shit on a regular basis?
There's a lot of it going
around, let's put it that way.
We really should
talk, you know. Get it all out.
Like in one of those
shit plays at the Abbey?
I don't know what the third act
revelation would be, though.
Neither do I.
Your mother dying killed a little
something in both of us, I know that.
It was a long goodbye
if ever there was one.
Sometimes I wish she hadn't have
hung on as long as she did.
She was stubborn,
all right.
Brave, too, though.
Wonder if I'll be as brave
when the time comes.
It wasn't just her dying.
You were missing in action a long time.
Before and after.
When I needed you most.
I was never neglectful,
I don't think.
I never hit you or anything.
There are other forms
of violence.
I know there are.
Attempting suicide, for one.
Jesus. I walked
into that one.
It's not only violence
against yourself, either.
It wasn't intended that way.
I never meant to hurt you.
How could it not hurt me?
I love you.
I love you, too.
Don't ever doubt that.
But, Dad...
Dad, just when I thought
I had you back...
and you were shipshape and raring to go,
go you did.
I thought it would
be another woman.
Fiona, I have a vocation.
I wasn't trying to escape.
I know that.
I know you're sincere.
But, Dad,
the fact remains...
...first mum went away
and then you went away.
And I lost two parents
for the price of one.
I never went anywhere.
I'm still here.
I think you're being
a bit naive, there, Father.
I'm still here.
I'll always be here.
Will you?
You promise?
I'll always be here.
And you'll always be here.
How's that for
a third act revelation?
It's corny.
But I like it.
Here.
As long as there is
chicken gravy on your rice
Everything is nice
Here's mud in your eye.
Great stuff!
You know how you can tell when
you're really getting old?
How?
No-one ever says the word
'death' around you anymore.
Bruno.
Bruno.
Oh, Bruno.
What has he done to you, Bruno?
I forgot to say
goodbye to Bruno.
I'll give him a big kiss from you.
Oh, do.
I'll be fine, you know.
Will you?
Well, let's just say,
today I'm fine.
So you say.
Hello.
Where are you off to?
The beach.
It's nice at the beach, isn't it?
Yeah.
Do you surf?
No, my Da won't let me.
Says it's too dangerous.
What does he know?
Big meanie.
Are you here on holidays?
Where are you from?
Wicklow?
Yeah.
Never mind.
We won't hold it against you.
Janine! Get in the car.
What were you saying to her?
I wasn't saying anything to her.
Oh, really?
You looked deep
in fucking conversation to me!
Where the hell did
you get to, honey?
I've been looking
all over for you.
Large one.
Are you sure about that?
Whiskey, I said.
Who burned down your church, Father?
If you don't mind me asking.
It's not my church.
It's our church.
I'd say it was the Romanians.
They're awful heathens, the Romanians.
What Romanians do
we have around here?
They're always hanging around,
Romanians.
Getting up to no good.
Must be someone
who doesn't like you, Father.
I think it must be one
of the good people in this town.
You should join the Guards, Simon,
with your powers of deduction.
These measures, Father. Like a
buttercup in the mouth of a cow.
Pint there, please, Brendan.
So you're sure there's a God, then,
Father, yeah?
Hey, I'm not codding.
I'm being serious.
I'm asking because I'm having doubts myself.
I'm having a crisis of faith.
Don't be getting offended.
I'm sorry.
Really I am!
As sure as there's a hole in a goat.
Don't be going away mad.
I'm an awful messer.
One scotch, one bourbon
Hey, Fada. Whaddaya hear,
whaddaya say.
You're back?
I got a lotta clients
in this town, Fada.
From the hoi polloi
to the masses of society.
I gotta keep my ass
lubricated at all times.
The hoi polloi are
the masses of society.
You're using
the phrase incorrectly.
You know,
that may be so, Fada.
I didn't get no education, see.
I was getting fucked in the ass
and in the face all day long.
There wasn't time
for any book-learning.
I was sucking
the prick of a bishop
in his bishopric
on a regular basis.
How do you like
that play on words, smartass?
Do you need help?
You're starting to
sound a little screwy.
Maybe you need to see
a head shrinker yourself.
Do you need help?
Are you okay?
Hey! Fada!
There's nothing wrong with me, Fada.
All right?
I'm feeling fine.
You know...
...when I first started out,
working up in Dublin...
...there was
this 3 year old boy.
Parents brought him into the hospital,
a routine operation.
But the anesthetist,
he made a mistake.
The little boy ended up deaf...
...dumb... blind...
...and paralyzed.
For good.
Think of it.
Think of when that little boy
first regained consciousness.
In the dark.
You'd be frightened,
wouldn't you?
But you'd be frightened
in the kind of a way that you know
that the fear is going to end.
It has to.
It must.
Your parents couldn't
be too far away.
They'll come to your rescue.
They'll turn the light on
and they'll talk to you.
But, think of it.
Nobody comes to rescue you.
No light is turned on.
You are in the dark.
You try to speak
but you can't.
You try to move...
but you can't.
You try to cry out
but you are unable
to hear your own screams.
You are entombed
within your own body
...howling with terror.
What the fuck?
Why the fuck would you tell me
a story like that?
No reason.
Some people
are awful touchy.
Good luck now!
Babe, you can't hold me
I'm too slippery
I do no sleeping
I get lonely
But you can touch me
if you want to
But I got poison
I just might bite you
Lie in circles
on the sunlight
Shine like diamonds
It's time to go.
Come on.
He's still drinking.
Same here.
Time to go, I said.
What's that, an order?
You do not like
taking orders, Father?
You don't mind
giving them.
His kind are all alike.
My 'kind'.
Yeah, your 'kind'.
Your time has gone,
you don't even fucking realize it.
My time will never be gone.
Did you hear that?
The arrogance of the man.
You need to be a little
more humble, Father.
Needs taking down a peg or two.
Take me down then.
Go on.
I fucking dare you.
Jesus Christ.
What happened to you?
Brendan Lynch.
Brendan Lynch?
He's a Buddhist.
So what if he's
a fucking Buddhist?!
You think Buddhists
don't beat people up?!
You think Buddhists
don't fuck their kids like everyone else?
Well, you're obviously
very upset.
Tibetans spit on blind
people in the street!
They're killing albinos
in Africa!
You're so fucking naive!
Please don't
curse at me, Father.
We'll continue in the
morning when you're sober.
Why are you
a fucking priest at all?!
You should be a fucking
accountant in an insurance firm!
Dirty thing.
Let's go home.
What is it?
Nothing.
You're leaving?
I think it's for the best.
Because of last night?
Because of a lot of things.
Not just last night,
or what's happened here.
I've been having doubts,
if you must know.
Listen, I'm sorry
about what I said last night.
You said what you said
with such venom.
I didn't realize
you hated me that much.
I don't hate you at all.
Then why?
It's just you have no integrity.
That's the worst thing
I could say about anybody.
Well, that's...
...that's just...
I hope you find what
you're looking for.
Good luck.
Everybody talks about
a new world in the morning
A new world in the morning
so they say
I myself don't talk about
a new world in the morning
A new world in the morning
that's today
And I can feel
a new tomorrow coming on
And I don't know why
I have to make a song
Everybody talks about
a new world in the morning
New world in the morning
takes so long
Father?
Hello.
You are going to Dublin?
Yeah.
Just getting away
for a while, you know.
I heard about your church.
A terrible thing.
Yes.
You must be very upset.
Yes, I am.
I'm bringing him home...
to his family in Italy.
Dublin and then... Rome.
How have you been?
People here have
been very kind to me.
No, I mean...
You know...
sometimes I think
I cannot go on.
But...
...I will go on.
Father.
Little early for Mass.
Doctor Harte was out fishing
at the crack of dawn.
He begrudgingly
gave me a ride.
Where are you headed?
Just down the beach.
Can I come along?
Not really, no.
Maybe later.
That's fine. You know,
I don't wanna keep you.
Did you finish your book?
Yes, I did. I don't
know how good it is.
I'm sure it'll be extraordinary.
You're a very fine writer.
Thank you, James.
You know you
changed the subject
the other day
when we were talking?
What was the subject?
You know what the subject was.
I think you committed
a sin of omission there,
if truth be told.
Sure there are worse sins
than sins of omission.
Well now you'd be the expert
in that department, Father.
I think there's too much talk about sins,
to be honest...
...and not enough
talk about virtues.
You might be right.
What would be
your number one?
I think forgiveness has
been highly underrated.
I forgive you.
Do you forgive me?
Always.
Thinking of
throwing yourself in?
They say that's
the easy way out.
Nothing easy about it,
I wouldn't have thought.
I'm in a bad way, Father.
No, I'm not putting you on.
The truth is,
I've been in a bad way for...
...a long time.
Not wanting
to do anything.
Feeling of nothing
being worthwhile.
A sense of disassociation.
Detachment.
I had a wife and kids...
...they meant nothing to me.
I have money,
it means nothing to me.
I have life...
...it means nothing to me.
Where do you think
it comes from...
the sense of detachment?
From nowhere.
From nowhere.
Listen, I've to meet
someone now...
...but I'll call up
to the house after.
We'll talk.
Get you back on track.
Okay?
- Okay?
- Thank you.
Thank you, Father.
Thank you.
All right?
Are you all right?
Yeah.
Take your hands out of your pockets.
Slowly.
Why?
I heard you had a gun.
I have to say I'm surprised. Thought
I'd have to go looking for you.
Just because I'm here,
doesn't mean
you have to go
through with it.
Yes, it does.
It's one of those
self-fulfilling prophecies.
Did you ever think it would
come to this, though?
I was hoping it wouldn't. I thought
you were a friend of mine.
A friend is just an enemy
you haven't made yet.
Cheap cynicism.
Not cheap, now, no.
That's a cynicism
that's been hard won.
That's a cynicism
that's been earned...
...after a hell of a lot of
physical and psychological torture.
I take it back, then. But
it's cynicism nonetheless.
Maybe that's
the difference between us.
Oh, that's not
the only difference.
Any regrets?
I have, yeah. I never got
to finish Moby Dick.
The whale kills Ahab.
Is that right?
Then he destroys the rest of the
ship and the crew along with it.
All except for Ishmael. He
alone escapes to tell thee.
The burning of the
church I can understand.
You didn't have
to kill my dog.
I didn't kill your dog.
I love dogs.
Why would I do
a thing like that?
I found him with his throat cut.
Why would I fucking
kill a dog?! I didn't...
That was nothing to do with me.
I am wholly innocent
of that crime.
I did give Veronica a bit
of a shove that one time.
I do admit that
and I'm sorry for it.
Did it upset you,
the dog?
Yes, it did.
Did you cry?
Yes, I did.
That's nice.
When you read what
your fellow priests
did to all those
poor children...
...over the years,
did you cry then?
I asked you a question.
Did you cry then?
No.
That's right!
I suppose...
What?
I suppose I felt
detached from it.
The way you are when you read
something in a newspaper...
Detach yourself from that!
We were the lucky ones!
There's bodies buried back there!
Buried like dogs!
Don't look at me.
Turn your face away!
Don't look at me!
No! Run!
Michael, run!
I'll get Stanton, Father.
He reminds me of me.
It's not too late, Jack.
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
Say your prayers, Father.
I've already said them.