Jun 12

Jun 12 Tribeca Film Festival movie review: 'Agnes'

*Image courtesy of the Tribeca Film Festival.*

Priests and nuns have their religious faith tested in the exorcism supernatural horror 'Agnes' (screening during the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival).

In short: After Sister Agnes (Hayley McFarland) explodes in an angry outburst, church leaders send a priest and priest-in-training (Ben Hall & Jake Horowitz) to investigate a possible demonic possession ... which disturbs Agnes's close friend Sister Mary (Molly C. Quinn).

Stories about apparently religious characters questioning their faith isn't groundbreaking material. But it's hard to take any story seriously when the characters themselves are so cavalier with their lack of faith. Internal conflict is hard to pull of when the characters themselves do not seem convicted in their beliefs. While packaged as a demonic possession horror flick, at its core 'Agnes' finds its characters unable to hear God.

The concept of a disaffected priest is interesting - but Father Donaghue (Hall) curses and casually takes the Lord's name in vain so effortlessly that it comes off as cartoonish. He's a broad character when smaller movies and a more nuanced take on a Catholic malcontent would have given the character more complexity. The script reveals his flat out incredulousness told he was to determine whether or not Sister Agnes was indeed possesses. He's skeptical to say the least. So a disgruntled Catholic reluctant to believe he's dealing with demonic forces at least gives his character a potential character arch. But alas, this potential is squandered and goes nowhere.

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Halfway through the film, 'Agnes' takes a storytelling shift so abrupt that it threatens to give the audience whiplash. The film carefully sets up a disgraced priest and his pious young clergyman, a rigid mother superior and some thirsty nuns. The script spends a prolonged scene establishing a defrocked, controversial exorcism expert - but 'Agnes' spends more time setting him up then actually using him in the story. All the while, Sister Mary quietly sits in the background - getting very little screen time and really only one meaningful scene in the entire first half of the film - that is until 'Agnes' totally changes course. Mary suddenly becomes the focal point of 'Agnes,' the setting completely changes and most of the other characters are jettisoned. Frankly, it's weird this film is even titled 'Agnes,' which implies Agnes would have a character trajectory of some sort. She doesn't. She's a plot device. This film really should have been titled 'Mary' - a slight pivot that might have at least left the audience curious why the quiet nun on the sidelines is the titular character rather than the possessed young nun.

Final verdict: 'Agnes' is fundamentally ill-equipped to tackle the deeply personal question of feeling a connection to God. Weirdly flippant and disjointed, this obtuse movie is ham-handed in its bungled exploration of faith.