The Righteous

source: The Righteous

This is a very good, intelligently scripted film. The cast comprises of three people mainly, and contains many long conversations. For such unrelenting dialogue, most of it one-note, nearly 100 minutes is far too long. Shorn of twenty minutes, things would be so much more effective. Having said that, the acting on display is excellent, with the intruder suggesting a number of possibilities that remain largely unexplored, leaving the implications to the audience. The ending, for example, is largely open to question. Filmed in cold black and white, and featuring some memorable haunted-house imagery, often beautifully lit, 'The Righteous' is unquestionably a fine film, and although the attention wandered a little once or twice, I ended up enjoying it a lot.

«The Righteous» is an amazing first film by Mark O'Brien, a 38-year-old Canadian actor, who since 2005 began directing and writing well-received short films. In making this first feature film, O'Brien demonstrates mastery of the elements that make up his work, while delivering a first-class performance on camera, that inspires the excellent cast. The movie addresses two subjects that genre filmmakers often combine: religion and fear. Or more specifically, Catholicism and terror. But just as the formula is liked, it is also one of the subgenres that incurs the most in sensationalism, green liquids, spinning heads and the profane. Not here. «The Righteous» is a sober, original, and well-written film, which I would only question its propensity for extensive use of dialogue. The protagonist is Frederic (Czerny), a former priest who hides a couple of secrets that lead him to a deep moral and ethical crisis when his adoptive daughter dies. His wife Ethel (Kuzky) is devastated, but he endures most of the unexpected tragedy, realizing that he has some "unsettled issues with God." The conversations with his priest friend Graham confront him; the visits from Doris, the dead girl's biological mother, stress him out; and finally, the arrival of a stranger at his house, 20 kilometers from the nearest town, alters everything. Aaron (played by the director) does not remember how he got there, why he is limping, and although the couple fear and mistrust his presence at first, they end up accepting him... until Aaron asks Frederic to kill him. The interest of what follows increases as the minutes go by, up to the ending, when the film reaches a paroxysmal and almost apocalyptic conclusion. It is true that, for an audience accustomed to superheroes, Disney or anime, the verbal exchanges of «The Righteous» could seem enigmatic, not helped much by the inclination of the dialogues towards the arcane to explain motives and reasons. But it is not fair to reject a film because it is not made to please a large audience, that resists reducing its components to the lowest common denominator so that everyone "understands". It is a film of our times for a special audience, who will know how to recognize the trot of the four horsemen in the final scene, without seeing them or learning who they are. An audience that will remember that, at the end of the day, even the righteous will fall.

Interesting Indie movie, shot god knows where. Maybe in Pennsylvania where maestro M. Night shoots his films. Well this amazing film (shot in BW) reminded me of Bergman and Woody Allen (go figure). Overall I loved the feel of this film and it's signature acting by the four main leads. Frederick, Aaron, Ethel plus 1. I love the camera work, the various shots, the starkness of a Pennsylvania forest; the POC police woman. Bubbling anticipation to see what developes. Hallelujah. Well, all of the characters were very interesting but I don't want to put any spoilers here. The movie cost me two dollars on YouTube and it was worth it because I love in the films and I love the black-and-white aspect of these films and the dialogue was really good.

1) I believe that this movie is more like a religious experience than a story about loss and guilt. I don't think it is ambiguous, there is only one explanation. In any case, regardless if i am right or wrong, there are many layers here, Existentialism, Metaphysics, God and, simultaneously, the absence of God. Pick your poison. 2) This is a psychological/dialogue driven drama with mystery and horror elements. If you are looking for mindless fun/gore/people killing each other, you will not like it. You will probably don't like it either if you are under 25 years old or if you don't like movies with religious tone. Filmed in black and white, there are many intense and thrilling moments if you are into this kind of movies. Actors and actresses are excellent, cinematography too. 3) I can understand why the ending is polarizing. I found it great, it's a great and appropriate ending for this movie. It's not a flawless movie, i would prefer it longer, 90 plus minutes aren't enough for this story to be told and unfold. Some scenes ended abruptly while it was getting interesting. But, overall, it was very interesting and most importantly, somewhat original. I wish other directors can be so bold and courageous in this genre, down the road.

I'd say the setting is okay, the black-and-white thing, some tension is there - that's good. Henry Czerny did good throughout the movie - yes. On the other hand, there's no horror, no mystery, some cheap thrills and whole lot of dark blunt drama. And that's it. There's no meaningful culmination, no good lesson. The whole plot is just unbearably blunt. And if you ever seen more than few movies in your life, you know from the beginning where the whole thing is going, and it goes exactly there... cause this plot has no depth and there is no surprise. Overall, it's too superficial to be any good.

A well written, well acted and well directed tale of personal horror, of loss, of abandonment, of the inequities of the human soul. Yes, I found this very good, not a comfortable film, but one of excellence.

Some of the acting is good, most is terrible and makes it difficult to have interest in the story as you are very aware of the GCSE acting. Nothing scary, happens, not much interesting happens, I would advise not watching unless you are a fan of boring, black and white weirdness.

This first feature from director-actor-writer Mark O'Brien (Ready or Not) is about Frederic (Henry Czerny) a grieving man already struggling with his faith who decides to help an injured Aaron Smith (O'Brien) when the man knocks on his door and claims to be lost in the woods. Frederic and his wife Ethel (Mimi Kuzyk) invite the man to stay, but Frederic soon begins to doubt why the man is there and the stories he tells. In fact, he could be there to test everything that Frederic -- a one-time priest before he got married -- knows. He's already endured the tragic loss of his daughter. What can be next? Filmed in striking black and white by cinematographer Scott McClellan, this movie is either a man of lapsed faith against the very human past sins made flesh or a home invasion movie. It could be both. As Aaron starts putting his feet up on the table, reading the brochure on the dead child's funeral expenses, asking some very personal questions and perhaps getting too close to Ethel, this film proves itself to be a long simmering and suspenseful effort that isn't afraid to its time, nor worried about a small cast. After all, there's so much talent here.

Black & white was a great choice for the look of it. From the acting to the writing to the direction everything worked in this production that had an Alfred Hitchcock vibe to it. The story gets muddled a little bit here & there, but everything else worked so well that I didn't care.