Deliver Us from Evil (***)

? First-time filmmaker Amy Berg documents the story of pedophile Catholic priest Oliver O’Grady, who was shuffled around several California parishes before finally being arrested. Three of O’Grady’s child victims, two women and a man, appear, as well as, the parents of one victim, attorneys others associated with the case, and, surprisingly, a placid Father O’Grady. “Father Ollie’s” superior, Cardinal Roger Mahony, is shown in deposition footage. Berg’s film portrays O’Grady’s decades-long history of abuse as part of a pattern of the Church seeking to suppress complaints rather than protect children.

+ A story like this can’t help but be interesting. The tears of the victims are heartbreaking, the descriptions of the Father’s acts revolting, and the complacency of his superiors depressing. I’ve read or heard a lot of criticism of the Church’s celibacy rules, but the movie gives the best explanation I’ve heard as to how this might facilitate an environment in which child abuse might be more prevalent, or more tolerated. The on-screen titles consistently remind viewers of who everyone is.

- I would have thought that hearing from the perpetrator would be the most compelling part of the documentary, but Father O’Grady offers little insight into his own mentality. I would have liked to hear him say why he agreed to appear on film. He expresses remorse, but in a seemingly perfunctory way. Perhaps, as he testifies, he was able to “disassociate” when he committed the molestations, so that while somehow aware of what he was doing, he’s fuzzy about details and, apparently, does not regard himself as a monster. The last segment of the film paints O’Grady’s story as part of a larger picture, but the movie is too short to make this case as compelling as it could be. I also think that, though not all documentaries need narrators, one here could have given the story a clearer shape.

= *** It’s a criticism and a compliment to the movie that it left me wanting more. Not the last word on pedophile priests, it’s still definitely worthwhile for those whose curiosity outweighs their squeamishness about an unpleasant topic.

IMDb link