September 12, 1999 -- Hollywood tries, occassionally, to make a movie about religion, but usually fails miserably. One of the few exceptions is "The Apostle," another is "Tender Mercies," both starring Robert Duvall, hmmm.

This one is about the stigmata, when a person shows actual wounds similar to those Christ suffered during the crucifixion. In this case, the person with the stigmata Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette of "True Romance") is not a believer at all. She is an atheist. Vatican investigator Father Andrew (Gabriel Byrne "The Usual Suspects") is mystified by the presence of the stigmata on a non-believer.

Then Paige begins speaking and writing in Aramaic, the language of Christ. The number and severity of Paige's wounds begins to mount and there's even an Exorcist-type of floating scene. I can't really say much more without ruining the movie. Let's just say this doesn't turn out to be what it first appears to be. It also has nothing to do with the millenium.

The acting is pretty good throughout and the film is visually interesting to look at, but the characters were not very interesting and the payoff fell with a dull thud. The movie also paints a pretty nasty picture of the Catholic Church for no good reason other than just to be mean-spirited, but then you can't really expect Hollywood, the new Babylon, to give the church a fair shake. This film rates a C.

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