The first appearance is a spectacle in itself. “Father Joe” begins like a typical gangster film. A rich drug lord drives to a secret laboratory in Manhattan and doesn’t suspect anything bad. It’s the 1990s in New York. Suddenly shots are fired. Men fall bloody to the ground. The hideout is under attack. The authorities? A hostile gang? No, it’s Father Joe alone: a priest, dressed up in a cassock and collar, a crucifix in front of his chest and a gun in his hand. Kiefer Sutherland embodies this character – and it quickly becomes clear: the former “24” star could have found a new star role here.
The Vietnam War veteran is a broken man. He had to experience the downfall of his family. His daughter died of an overdose at 16. He has now declared war on organized crime. It is not enough for him to speak the word of God against evil. Instead, he wants to personally ensure that drugs are no longer sold to young people. So he takes on the city’s underworld. The method by which he makes her submissive is so (terrific) bizarre that it’s better not to reveal it in advance. But let’s put it this way: It’s hard to believe how quickly some of the mafia godfathers find their way to the church service afterwards.
The direct encounters between Kiefer Sutherland and Al Pacino are among the film’s many fun-absurd highlights.
Screenwriter Luc Besson (“León – The Professional”) and director Barthélémy Grossmann (“Arthur: Malediction”) quickly make it clear what kind of film we are in here. “Father Joe” is trash. But one of the lovable kind and not one who would only rely on slapstick and cynical jokes or who could no longer be taken seriously at all. Quite the opposite! No matter how over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek his ideas are, “Father Joe” definitely wants to tell something truthful beneath its lurid surface – for example, feeding the poor in the backyard is presented with an almost sacred seriousness.
Of course, there is also the obvious addiction issue. “Father Joe” also looks through his 90s lens at the rampant drug problems of today in the USA. Especially among young people. Keyword: opioid crisis. Ever Anderson embodies a young woman whose father Joe takes care of in order to protect her from the worst and steer her onto a better path. The sheer unstoppable business behind addiction, however, is another matter. And at this point we definitely have to talk about the film’s second big star.
Meeting of two acting legends
In addition to Kiefer Sutherland as the battle-hardened priest, Hollywood legend Al Pacino is also there as a mafia boss. He also plays with his cool gangster film image in a humorous and self-ironic way. When he opens the classic novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and summarizes what he has read, it is one of the grotesque highlights of the film. Not to mention his meetings with Sutherland’s character! “Father Joe” ultimately does exactly what exciting genre cinema is characterized by: it combines high culture with vulgar excess, morality with border crossing, fun and seriousness.
The church space is desecrated, defiled, shot at and blown up. There is an armory hidden behind the statue of the Virgin Mary. Dirty money is passed on to the diocese. In the confessional, the spiritual and the secular perhaps recognize themselves as just two sides of the same product idea. Only to find their way back to belief in goodness and values such as charity. Maybe in a somewhat unconventional shape and form. In the comic-like world of “Father Joe,” utopia is alive: Here, the world religions are still united in their fight against those who plunge others into misery.
The birth of a new cult series?
The film has its problems and lengths in the second half. When it comes to opening up a new storyline about child abductions and illegal organ trafficking, then “Father Joe” slows things down significantly. You can tell that Luc Besson’s script needs a start in order to send his title hero on new missions and to top the madness of the first act. Whether the brutal shootings and brawls on the home stretch are really that exciting remains to be seen. Especially when you consider that the action had already peaked long beforehand in a room full of balloons.
But maybe that’s just the warm-up anyway, a first serve and test run, which can be forgiven for such bumpy passages and small sags. For Father Joe, there still seems to be a lot to do in the world one way or another – and there are already so many weapons of all kinds stored in the basement that the necessary firepower would definitely be there. Perhaps Father Joe could soon become the next John Wick at the behest of the Holy See. At least when it comes to oneliners, Father Joe is actually one step ahead. Amen to that!
Conclusion: May the Lord bless everyone involved for giving the world Kiefer Sutherland as a shooting man of God.
We saw “Father Joe” at the Venice Film Festival, where it had its world premiere as a midnight screening.