One man, two boys... one deadly game.
At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control.
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Character
Classical in form, grave, earnest and intimate.
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
- earnestironic
- intimateepic
- warmbleak
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“Is Richard Burton the best thing in Absolution?”
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“Does the smallness hold it back?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · Jun 20226/10
_**Burgeoning iniquities underneath the surface at a boys’ religious school**_ A strict schoolmaster at a Catholic boarding school in England named Goddard (Richard Burton) favors one student, Benjie Stanfield (Dominic Guard), but seems to loathe his awkward misfit ‘friend,’ Arthur Dyson (Dai Bradley). Meanwhile Benjie befriends a vagrant hippie (Billy Connolly), a relationship of which Goddard disapproves. Havoc ensues. "Absolution" (1978) is a psychological drama/mystery with some thrills in the last act scripted by the screenwriter of “The Wicker Man” (1973). It’s the inverse of “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975), just with an unambiguous climax. (Dominic Guard, incidentally, appeared in that film as well). The setting naturally brings to mind “Dead Poets Society” (1989), but “Absolution” lacks its inspirational heart and addresses darker ideas. Speaking of which, the underlying psychological and spiritual themes are fascinating, which makes the film conducive to repeat viewings. At first glance, it juxtaposes the potential confines of religion with the seeming liberties of bohemianism and Benjie is stuck in between. But there’s more, way more. Like the fact that carnal hatred enge
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20227/10
I wonder what it must have been like for Dominic Guard to play this really pretty manipulative role opposite Richard Burton. Whatever nerves or awe he may have felt is very well disguised, though, as he turns in a super performance as the young student "Benjie". His teacher - "Fr. Goddard" (Burton) is a man of profound faith and little tolerance of, or interest in, his students. The former alights on a plan to torment the latter by making a false confession - safe in the knowledge that this confession must be taken to the grave. The priest believes, investigates and discovers it is a practical joke. Soon, though, he is being subjected, regularly, to more equally heinous confessions and after discovering that there is truth to one of them, he slowly he begins to lose the plot. The pace builds well, the performances from the two and from David Bradley's slightly OCD "Arthur" giving us quite a sense of tension, and the last few scenes offer us a pretty brutal and unexpected series of twists. Burton is immersed in the role, and though maybe a little hammy towards the end manages to work well with the two younger actors to create quite a tense drama. The narrative also opens up to scrut
Read the whole review on TMDB - talisencrwon TMDB · Mar 20168/10
I saw this in horrific conditions from the moderately intriguing and extremely entertaining 'Drive-In Movie Classics' pack of 50 films on 12 double-sided DVDs. Ten minutes were cut from the film and it was pan-and-scan--specifically spliced to get it to fit into a two-hour TV-spot with commercials. Still, it was an exceptional work, and I'm extremely curious for two reasons--why it was shelved for 10 years from U.S. release (until Burton was dead for four years), and why it seems to have fallen to public domain. It has a strong script, very good direction, Burton's performance is masterful (in fact, one of the best I have seen from him) and the supporting cast of both unknown youths and Billy Connolly is downright impressive. The film deserves a much better fate...Absolution itself, methinks. ;)
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Cast
- Richard BurtonFather Goddard
- Dominic GuardBenjamin 'Benjie' Stanfield
- David BradleyArthur Dyson
- Billy ConnollyBlakey
- Andrew KeirHeadmaster
- Willoughby GrayBrigadier Walsh
- Preston LockwoodFather Hibbert
- James OttawayFather Matthews
- Brook WilliamsFather Clarence
- Robin SoansFather Henryson
Crew
- Anthony PageDirector
- Anthony ShafferWriter
- John CoquillonDirector of Photography
- Stanley MyersOriginal Music Composer
- John Victor-SmithEditor
- Elliott KastnerProducer
- Danny O'DonovanProducer
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Pairings
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