The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 18, 1995 - 11 'The Priest' is an illuminating film By Joshua Rich Daily Arts Writer Abouthalfway into Antonia Bird's 105-minute drama "Priest," Father Greg Pilkington breaks down. Trapped in a life of faith, loyalty and obedience to the Catholic church, Father Greg finds himself amidst a swirling maelstrom of controversy. Priest Directed by Antonia Bird with LinusRoache and Tom Wilkinson At the Michigan Theater Ie yells at a crucifix on the wall of his boarding house room, giving a heart- wrenching monologue filled with blasphemy, regret and tears. Father Greg is in pain and no one, not even Jesus Christ or the almighty God for whom he lives, seems to be able to rid him of his misery. Such is the climactic scene in this movie about a man sworn to a life of elibacy and religious reverence who has doubts not only about his profes- sion but also about his own sexuality and existence. Much in the mold of other British flicks that are created by and star veterans of the English stage and television traditions, "Priest" is a short and simple movie that is never- theless thought-provoking, engaging and erotic. British stage and TV actor Linus Roache plays Father Greg who is sent to an impoverished parish in a blue- collar neighborhood of Liverpool. Upon his arrival, Greg gets immersed in a series of personal and religious problems which cause him to doubt the policies of the church and his role in it. He tends to offend the conserva- tive members of his parish with lib- eral and blunt sermons and he is fur- ther startled to discover that his fel- low priest and house mate, Father Matthew (Tom Wilkinson), is having an affair with their maid. But Greg's major problems begin when he receives the confession of a 14 year-old girl telling him of the sexual and physical abuse which her father inflicts upon her. Bound by his oath of secrecy, Greg suffers, unable to tell anyone of this horrible sin and, more importantly, unable to help ease the pain of the girl. As a priest Greg is expected to help the suffering, but his anger at the church flares up when he is forced to keep such pain secret and without cure. Likening this girl's unhappy situ- ation to his own, Greg is led to doubt his role as a priest especially after he finds himself in a gay bar and ulti- mately in bed with another man with whom he falls desperately in love. Greg is a sinner and he is imprisoned in a religious world where every ques- tion should have an answer and every affliction should have a cure. Yet he is utterly unable to find any help for his problems nor solace within the church's cold walls. Roache succeeds in his portrayal of Father Greg by giving a perfor- mance that is subtle and restrained yet nevertheless enlightening. Forced to be the symbol of faith and happiness to all his struggling parishioners, Roache maintains an external air of gentility and holiness while he is vis- ibly hurting and doubtful inside. His presentation is thoroughly believable and his daring to exhibit the most explicit details of Greg's homosexual lifestyle - in a world where such behavior is still not accepted - is highly commendable. Also interesting is Wilkinson ("In the Name of the Father") who ini- tially presents Father Matthew as an unfriendly and conservative clergy- man, but who grows to become Greg's greatest supporter and friend. He is an 'The Priest' is an emotional whirlwind. occasionally amusing addition to a film that undoubtedly weighs heavily on the hearts of its audience. Supported by Andy Roberts' strik- ing musical score that combines new age synthetic music with common church themes, Bird's second feature film (after 1994's "Safe") is a thought- ful character study. It is a movie that removes all barriers in its quest to examine the complex situation of its main character. "Priest" remains entirely focused on the troubles of Father Greg, thus drawing the viewer into his tender heart and soul. In the end we understand that clergymen in the Catholic church are neither shielded from ordinary human problems nor separate from the rest of society. They are truly ordinary people. And whether or net we can directly relate the life and problems of Father Greg to our own, we are easily able to understand and sympathize with him. He is an honest man with real problems and real concerns - an illuminating mirror of ourselves. RECORDS Continued from page 10 Sybil Vane Sybil Vane island Records It's not just the ill-advised mix of metal, hip-hop and stories of emo- tional trauma. It's not just the histri- onic yowling of "singer" April 1 mirror of ourselves. Devereaux. It's not even the illustra- tions inside the jewel case of jesters having sex. No, the horror known as Sybil Vane (and their equally horrid debut album) is more than the sum of its parts. While the album opener, "Pixy," has a certain rolling majesty, the vast majority of the album is a droning, crushing slog through tales of degradation and abuse (though the abuse heaped on the listener's ears is even more heinous). Titles like "Dis- torting Angels" and "Whips And Lol- lipops" do nothing to alleviate the image of Sybil Vane as a group des- perately trying to appear hard-bitten, world-weary and yes, even alterna- tive. Yikes! Not since 4 Non Blondes has their been a band so thoroughly untalented and unappealing. Listen- ing to this album is a venture com- pletely in Vane. - Heather Phares BMX Bandits Life Goes On Creation Records Imagine a wimpy Teenage Fanclub. Now say the words "BMX Bandits." The words wimpy and Teen- age Fanclub seem incompatible don't they? But BMX Bandits acoustic-pop nature makes the paradox real. Their easy-listening sound, particularly on songs such as "Space Girl" and "Cats and Dogs" will stir you to recollect AM radio days and its hot properties like Air Supply and Abba. Not that AM radio isn't any less welcome in my household than FM and its bloated and burdensome rock- strutting-across-my-face with Led Zeppelin and the Stone Temple Pi- lots, but BMX Bandits is limp regard- less of its light weight. A mellow, acoustic art-pop band can punch all the right nerves. It's just not this band. - Matt Carlson Paul Geremia Self Portrait in Blues Red House Paul Geremia can play a hell of a guitar, fingerpicking his way through fourteen country-blues numbers on his latest, "Self Portrait in Blue." His work is sharply reminiscent of such greats as Blind Willie McTell" and, in fact, "Kick it in the Country" feels like a lost McTell track. By the time he gets around to "Drive Away Blues," written by Willie, the comparison is unavoidable-and that's most defi- nitely not a bad thing. In addition to being one of the finest in his area of guitar, Geremia has a fairly convinc- ing voice and can take a decent turn on piano as well. Howard Armstrong offers excellent fiddle and mandolin support while Rory McLeod throws in a bit of fine upright bass here and there. Acoustic country-blues may not be the widest field anymore but Geremia goes a long way towards proving that it ain't dead, either. He appears at the Ark on April 20th. Consider yourself warned and the show recommended. - Dirk Schulze 24-7 Spyz Temporarily Disconnected Enemy This is the band that once pro- claimed "We're 24-7 Spyz ... who the fuck are you?" loudly and proudly. That was 1988, the album was "Harder Than You" and its mesh of crunching metal, funk rhythms, clever hip-hop, occasional polka forays and a cover of Kool and the Gang made it a mini- classic. After a so-so follow-up, a lineup change, two more so-so follow-ups and a hiatus the original members are back in their old form, except that vocalist Peter Fluid now goes by the name "Forrest." Shades of Gump? I don't know, but it's nice to have him back; the man has a great voice. The trademarks are there, but un- fortunately the wackiness is gone. Too much time is spent on riffs that crunch but don't inspire spastic acts of violent pogoing. Some of the soul is there but not overly so, making "Temporarily Disconnected" far from the Parliament-Hendrix crossover guitarist Jimi Hazel's name suggests. Not bad, not great. Still, I'd kill to see them live. -Kirk Miller Ganksta C Stepchild Profile Records Profile Records has given Craig Mac- lookalike, Ganksta C, his chance to fulfill his dreams of becoming a big-time rapper. Hill 11-cut debut release follows a very simple mathematical formula: Ganksta C's Dream = rap lover's nightmare. Using a variety of background beats that sound like "Murder Was the Case" rejects, Ganksta C swoops down like a nasty, greasy harpy upon your unsuspect- ing ears and spews into them the auditory equivalent of cow dung in the form of "songs" like "Big Balls, "3 Wheel Mo- tion" and "Dank Got Me Skitsin'." It's interesting that Ganksta C would begin his credits with "First of all I wanna thankGodforgivin'meatalent."I wishhe would take the time to figure out what that talent is, use it and leave rapping to those for whom it is a talent. - Eugene Bowen See RECORDS,page 12 Too bad Sybil Vane doesn't sound as good as they look. Being astudent is hard. So we a wa have made buying a Macintosh easy.So easyin-fact, that prices on s eiMacintosh personal computers are now even lower than their already s iss . low student prices. And with the Apple*Computer Loan and 90-Day Deferred Payment Plan, you can take home a Mac without having to make a single payment for up to 90 days. Which means you can also take home the power to make PowerBooke 520c w/Modem any student's life easier. The power