In this film, a young Catholic priest is sent to Rome to investigate the death of the superior of his congregation, ending up with a scenario that crosses the supernatural with the mystery. This plot looks perfect for a horror movie, doesn't it? But this isn't the case and this is one of the problems because it clashes with public's expectations, since half of them goes in search of horror. Despite this risk, the plot is interesting, engaging and manages to create an atmosphere that makes you stick to the screen to see what will happen. Its evident from the beginning that this priests are totally unorthodox and would hardly be priests in real life, but the movie's credibility depends more on how willing you are to swallow the "sin eater" story. Personally, I didn't have major problems with that, even though everything stinks false. Despite the cold start and the slow pace, the film grows as it unfolds and the final is very good, but I was able to anticipate it sensibly from the middle.
The film has some well-known actors, starting with Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann and Peter Weller. This last name was probably the most renowned and experienced at the time and he did a positive work, but his character was so secondary that he had very little to work with. The others limited themselves to doing what they really had to do, without merit or brilliance, in woody performances that didn't add anything praiseworthy to their careers. Cinematography presents nothing particularly interesting as well but the few special effects used are far better than the avalanche of bad CGI that some films present to the public.
Far from being a good movie, this is a medium-quality thriller that fits anyone who likes the genre or just wants to spend some time idle. Its not good enough to deserve a second watch, nor its bad enough for you to consider poorly spent the time you've been watching it.
