In the DVD director's commentary, the Director says they took great care in making Alex look credible as a priest--a traditionalist priest at that--because it is "crucial" that the audience buys into him being a priest if they're going to buy into the plot at all. Clearly, the directors and producers didn't know much about Catholicism. In the beginning, we see Alex vesting and saying Mass, in Latin. While they make sure to put traditional garments on him, they entirely missed what is perhaps the most obvious Mass vestment: the chasuble. This is a great oversight because no traditionalist priest would miss the chasuble, doing so would be sinful. (Canon Law says celebrating Mass without the appropriate vestments is a mortal sin.) Additionally, the old school priests always wore their stoles so that they crossed their chest, in an X--not hanging straight down as Alex does (that is reserved for bishops). You might also note that the words Alex says when he gives Communion ("Corpus Christi") are the not the words from the Latin mass: "Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam meam in vitam aeternam. Amen." This seems odd as they paired Heath up with a priest to do the Latin so the scene would appear real.
The major plot flaw, however, is the integral scene of Mara as she lay dying. Alex doesn't want to take over as the Sin Eater but is forced by Eden who stages Mara's death. Alex notes that he's no longer a priest so he can't grant her absolution for her sins, thus--out of desperation--he uses the Sin Eater ritual to take away her sins. This is horribly inaccurate. Catholic theology (both traditional and contemporary) teaches that once a priest is ordained he is a priest forever, even if he is deposed by the Church or if he steps down as a priest (in which case he is simply forbidden from doing priestly duties). Canon Law, at the same time, specifically notes that if someone is about to die, a former priest not only CAN absolve her but is MORALLY OBLIGATED to do so. I don't know how the writer missed this--it holds true in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism, and Old Catholicism.
Aside from those two points, lines in parts of the movie don't seem to flow well or be realistic. (Too, the scene of a desperate Mara throwing papers and books at Eden on the stairwell doesn't seem very realistic.) Despite all this, the movie is interesting and a new perspective on the Church. I did like it and even bought the DVD...I'm just a little disappointed with some of the aspects of it.
The major plot flaw, however, is the integral scene of Mara as she lay dying. Alex doesn't want to take over as the Sin Eater but is forced by Eden who stages Mara's death. Alex notes that he's no longer a priest so he can't grant her absolution for her sins, thus--out of desperation--he uses the Sin Eater ritual to take away her sins. This is horribly inaccurate. Catholic theology (both traditional and contemporary) teaches that once a priest is ordained he is a priest forever, even if he is deposed by the Church or if he steps down as a priest (in which case he is simply forbidden from doing priestly duties). Canon Law, at the same time, specifically notes that if someone is about to die, a former priest not only CAN absolve her but is MORALLY OBLIGATED to do so. I don't know how the writer missed this--it holds true in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism, and Old Catholicism.
Aside from those two points, lines in parts of the movie don't seem to flow well or be realistic. (Too, the scene of a desperate Mara throwing papers and books at Eden on the stairwell doesn't seem very realistic.) Despite all this, the movie is interesting and a new perspective on the Church. I did like it and even bought the DVD...I'm just a little disappointed with some of the aspects of it.