Fan Review by Joel, May 26, 2010

This was a real surprise. I was like a lot of viewers, thinking this story was about priest Sisto meeting a hooker and being lured into her world by primal urges. I thought he was going to be so taken with her plunging neckline, her silky voice and her nice lips that he was going to search for her in hopes of getting lucky. But no, I was wrong, Father John is actually a real man of the cloth, a man of God--if you can get past the bizzare visit to the adult book shop and buying a nudie mag just to try to get a clue about Linda.

Mostly this is a subtle story about a man's internal struggle with his own stagnant faith in God and in people. It's peopled with countless facinating, complex characters, and the allure Linda presents is based on her staggering confession at the beginning of the movie. Sisto undergoes a radical internal transformation, his life forever changed by his search for the suicidal hooker. Unfortunately for the lucious Kristen Chenoweth, who does a very impressive job in a dramatic role (she is most known for playing cheerful perky blondes "4 Christmases" and "Deck the Halls"), her character's story through the film is not nearly as riveting as Sisto's Father John as he is tortured mentally by his obsessive need to save Linda's life, and in the end, has his relationship God strengthened. Sisto, known for playing explosive, extreme emotions, accomplished a great feat in this suprisingly introspective performance. When it all comes to a head for him, there's no predictable volcanics, only a quiet moment of understanding and grief.

I was very happy with the overall tone and pace of the film, which might prove too slow for people looking for more "showy" and "polished" material. This one has a streetsmart yet very tenderhearted feel, hard to describe in words. Put simply, it's a winner.