Saw it on Good Friday with my Bride and her mother. It was not what I expected. From the trailer I thought it would be somewhat lighthearted. It is not. It was gritty, raw and immensely powerful. It is the most searing religious movie I have seen since The Passion of The Christ. Full review next week. Definitely not for kids due to language and the intensity of the emotional impact of scenes in the film.
I have no doubt that Father Stuart Long is now beholding the Beatific Vision, and this film shows the improbable path he took to reach that goal.
Saw it, too. Amazing. And you’re right about the raw, BTW. Some have complained of it. I don’t.
From what I can find out the real Fr Stuart Long was nothing like the character portrayed. Even before he was ordained as a priest he rarely used profanity. He was also not drunk when he wrecked the motorcycle.
Mark Wahlberg is also never asked in his many interviews why he deviates from Catholic teachings on moral issues. He is a lifelong democrat and does not follow Church teachings on abortion or marriage.
Wahlberg AND Gibson are both mysteries really. Not to mention the fact the movie is directed by Mel Gibson’s current partner Rosalind Ross. But, God uses the most unlikely people for His good. Wahlberg would have remained a violent, street thug if it weren’t for his Faith. He’s still a work in progress. I guess.
Wahlberg actually has said that Hollywood celebrities should not announce their political views, and after Trump was elected in 2016 he said he had hope for his administration. Wahlberg is not a cookie cutter Hollywood liberal. He is a work in progress, as are we all.
Yes try we are all a work in progress.
Sorry- I’ll do that again…
Yes we are all a work in progress.
(My rushed and flawed sentences have also clearly reminded me of this 😂)
“Wahlberg is not a cookie cutter Hollywood liberal. He is a work in progress, as are we all.“
But nor is he the faithful Catholic he and the pseudo orthodox Catholic Media Complex want you to believe he is.
The reviews that I have seen for Father Stu from orthodox Catholic sources have been rather mixed. Austin Ruse for example at Crisis:
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2022/father-stu-a-flawed-story-of-redemption
I have seen little evidence of any strong push for the film from Catholic sources, certainly nothing like the reception of The Passion of the Christ in 2004. Secular sources routinely describe Wahlberg as a devout Catholic, not so much the Catholic sources I have read.
The folks over at EWTN, including but not limited to Raymond Arroyo, are in full gush mode over the movie. So is Bishop Barron and Catholic Answers as well. Wahlberg is often treated fawningly by these type of Catholic media sources. Wahlberg was also MC for Meeting of the Families in Philadelphia during Pope Francis’ visit.
The Raymond Arroyo interview:
https://youtu.be/MOw9ECcnSMA
Bishop Barron interview:
https://youtu.be/4tcaz3Xo_2c
Just to cite a couple examples of how gaga supposedly orthodox prominent Catholic outlets are gushing over this movie and sucking up to Wahlberg at the same time.
I assume they liked the film Greg. Hardly proof of your mythical Catholic Media Complex pushing the film. As for Wahlberg, as I noted he is a work in progress, but I like the direction he now appears to be heading. See the film if you haven’t and let us know what you think of the film itself.
First you say no Catholic outlet is pushing the film. I prove that to be false. In Arroyo’s interview, he compares Wahlberg’s story to Fr. Stu’s. Unless Fr. Stu openly supported same sex “marriage”, which I seriously doubt, such a comparison is a lie!
You and I both know what I say about the supposedly orthodox Catholic is true, Don. You’re denying that is dishonest!
Supposedly orthodox Catholic media that is.
My issue isn’t as much against Wahlberg as it is against a hypocritical corrupt Catholic media that uses people the same way the the left wing secular media does. They are every bit as selective in their reporting on their own sacred cows as MSNBC, CNN, etc are. Only they do it under the veil of orthodox Catholicism. And that makes it all the more shameful! If they really cared about Wahlberg himself, they would at least ask him how he reconciles his Catholic faith with supporting something like same sex “marriage”. But they’d rather pander to him.
You’re denying that is dishonest!
Not at all Greg. You claimed that there was a big push for the film by the orthodox Catholic Media Complex. Thus far you have given two data points. I am unconvinced. Having seen the film, I do not think this is a film that fits neatly into any box, something I will be exploring in my forthcoming review which I will am still mulling over.
By the way, I actually saw the film. Despite the fact it was poorly written and it consisted of B list acting at best by two A list actors like Gibson and Wahlberg, it did convey the story in an impactful way. Now it is questionable that the film did a good job of portraying the real Fr. Stu. I saw part of an interview with Fr Stu’s dad, Bill Long, who responded to that question by saying they choose to go a different way.
As I pointed out, I gave just two EXAMPLES! There are several more.
I thought the acting overall was superb. As most films do, it simplified the life of the subject of the biopic.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/father-stu-long-icon-and-ambassador-of-divine-mercy
https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/father-stu/
https://aleteia.org/2022/04/14/14-fascinating-facts-about-the-real-life-fr-stu-long-that-you-need-to-know/
The movie is touted as a conversion story, but I see it differently, something I will discuss in my review of the film.
I saw most of the Arroyo ETWN interview twice. I thought it positive, not sure it was ‘gushy.’
I think [sirens!] anything have way decent should be promoted.
I don’t know about Mark’s personal foibles and I don’t want you to know mine. I thought he was OK as Marcus Luttrell in Sole Survivor. True tragedy.
Three things. One, MG is supposedly working on a sequel to ‘The Passion,’ I was very disappointed that it is not moving, I’ll be dead before it comes out. Two, that teenager is his main squeeze? – ewwwww. Three, is he bat$hit crazy? – see his facial contortions.
Re:: contemporary male stardom. Neither of them is a Gary Cooper, a Charleton Heston,or a John Wayne.
The Arroyo interview with Wahlberg was very gushy. Wahlberg’s public support for same sex “marriage” is not a private personal foible. It’s a public manifest grave sin according to Church law. This bars him from communion. But how much do you want to bet he’s a frequent communicant? Instead of comparing him to a the late Fr. Stu, who by all appearances, was fully repentant and didn’t support something gravely contrary to the teaching of the Church, Arroyo could have asked Wahlberg how supporting a grave sin squares with being the serious Catholic he publicly presents himself as.
Arroyo specializes in light weight interviews Greg especially with entertainment figures. Gushing is his trademark. You will have to do much better than that to support your conspiracy theory of the orthodox Catholic Media Complex pushing Father Stu.
I have deleted your last comment Greg and I am putting you on moderation. I value your comments, but you do take disagreement a good deal more personally than I do, and that is not what this blog is for.
By saying gushing is Arroyo’s you’re admitting he’s not a serious commentator. I’ll agree with you on that, Don.
I view him as an entertainment figure only Greg and a lightweight, at least as to his on air persona.
Side comment: As one whose education and avocation is history, I learned long ago to never equate the film world with a rendition of the actual events.
That is the sad and sorry true. Of course history and entertainment are separate categories and the purpose of a movie is usually to entertain and make money. My problem with a film “based on true events” is when it is neither factual nor entertaining.
“I view him as an entertainment figure only Greg and a lightweight, at least as to his on air persona.”
Unfortunately, Don, I have to agree. I have watched Arroyo for almost eighteen years now, and while he often does a good job of covering the things about our kidney stone of a papacy that others ignore, he spends far too much time in self-promotion. I have often wondered if he somehow got Michael Warsaw to agree to a contract term allowing him free reign to use EWTN to sell his own books. And nearly every week, he informs us at the outset of his World Over program that we are about to see “an important show tonight.” He really means it, too. I still like him and wish someone at EWTN would get him to temper his ego somewhat.
“My problem with a film “based on true events” is when it is neither factual nor entertaining.“
I would have to agree. There are some notable exceptions. Say what you will about Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, but their works Band of Brothers and The Pacific are classic exceptions. I would actually say The Pacific was even better because they portrayed life after they came home. The psychological after effects of combat are the least understood and that mini series did a good job of bringing that out.
I read Eugene Sledge’s book With the Old Breed after seeing the mini series and don’t recall hardly any liberties taken with Sledge’s account of his Pelileu and Okinawa.
“I read Eugene Sledge’s book With the Old Breed after seeing the mini series and don’t recall hardly any liberties taken with Sledge’s account of his Pelileu and Okinawa.”
They adhered very closely to Sledge’s harrowing memoir. I especially liked the scene after he got home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etuHEvsZLcU
https://museum.phideltatheta.org/famous/eugene-sledge/
One of the best war memoirs I have ever read.
Sledge actually wrote a sequel to The Old Breed called China Marine. After the war, he spent six months in China assisting in the repatriation of Japanese soldiers back to Japan among other things. While there he developed a close friendship with a Flemish missionary priest and a wealthy devout Catholic Chinese family, despite Sledge not being Catholic. The priest would visit him at his parents home in Alabama when he returned to the states to teach at Catholic U in D.C. The Catholic family was probably murdered by the ChiComs.
Sledge had an extremely difficult time adjusting to civilian life in the states. His father, a prominent doctor who treated shell shocked soldiers in WWI, was instrumental in helping him adjust. He told Eugene whatever he decides to do with his life, he shouldn’t become a doctor, fearing socialized medicine will ruin health. Eugene lost his interest in hunting (the scene where he breaks down actually happened) and took up bird watching as a hobby. Given his interest intensifying, his father urged him to apply for a graduate program in biology. He eventually earned a PhD in biology and was a professor at Montivello University, which I think became Auburn University.
and was a professor at Montivello University, which I think became Auburn University.
Montevello in Alabama was a women’s college, now a common-and-garden state college. It is located about 30 miles from Birmingham. Auburn was a polytechnic that later branched out. It is located near the state’s eastern border.
War is brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste.
Combat leaves an indelible mark on those who are forced to endure it. The only redeeming factors were my comrades’ incredible bravery and their devotion to each other. Marine Corps training taught us to kill efficiently and to try to survive. But it also taught us loyalty to each other – and love. That esprit de corps sustained us.
Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one’s responsibilities and to be willing to make sacrifices for one’s country — as my comrades did. As the troops used to say, “If the country is good enough to live in, it’s good enough to fight for.” With privilege goes responsibility.
Eugene Sledge