Working for the Devil

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Angel Heart (1987)

Many of us have had employers who we doubted were wholly on the up and up. I worked at a movie theater where there were rumors the manager shaved off profits from the box office receipts (I know for a fact he sold expired hot dogs), but what if your employer wasn't just shady but was downright evil?

In John Grisham’s The Firm, a lawyer discovered his firm was a front for the mafia. The two films featured today have even more diabolic bosses (the mafia might work for these fellows). We'll first look at a film which, as in The Firm, features an attorney hired by a law firm that is much more than it seems. The very premise leads one to think of the many jokes about diabolic lawyers. 

In fact, a 19th-century evangelist, Lorenzo Dow, told a story of being on a preaching tour and coming to a the general store in a small town one cold winter night. The town's lawyers were gathered around the pot-bellied stove and listened while Dow told about a recent vision in which he had been given a tour of hell, much like the traveler in Dante's Inferno. One of the lawyers asked what he had seen. "Very much what I see here," Dow said. "All of the lawyers gathered in the hottest place."

1997’s The Devil’s Advocate (directed by Taylor Hackford), stars Keanu Reeves as Kevin Lomax, a small-town lawyer recruited by a high-powered law firm to practice criminal defense law in the Big Apple. The head of the firm goes by the name of John Milton (Al Pacino). No one in the film ever says, “Isn’t John Milton the name of that British poet who wrote Paradise Lost in which Satan plays a prominent role?” trusting the audience to note that obvious allusion.

As the film goes on, the firm asks Lomax to make increasingly questionable moral choices, and the identity of Milton as the devil becomes increasingly obvious. Lomax faces increasing moral and physical peril. 

If only he had listened to his mother. 

Judith Ivey plays Kevin’s mother, Alice, who senses moral peril when her son plans to move to the big city. Alice is active in her local (and well-attended) fundamentalist church where we hear the congregation singing a lively Gospel song (based on Romans 16:19.)

But Lomax is not a part of that church, as we learn when Milton questions Kevin about his mother and her church.

Lomax: My mother raised us, just the two of us. She wasn’t married. She’s a preacher’s kid, she’s pretty tough. She has a church she likes, she spends a lot of time there. When she goes out, it’s to do volunteer work.

Milton: Didn’t rub off the Book? The Church?

Lomax: I’m on parole.

Turns out he might have been much better off sticking to that church of his mother’s.

There is another church featured prominently in the film, used for the funeral of Eddie Barzoon (Jeffrey Jones), another member of Milton's law firm and a very bad man. The minister at the service eulogizes Barzoon as a wonderfully moral man, a pillar of the community. This is a church where Milton seems very much at home (though his presence does make the Holy Water boil). That fact alone adversely affects the church’s Steeple Rating negatively, though the church is the place Lomax’s wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) seeks comfort after Lomax's boss rapes her,

(Several very beautiful Manhattan churches were used for the production, including the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Central Presbyterian Church, and the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer.)

In 1987’s Angel Heart, private detective Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke), is working for a different sinister boss (or client) who goes by the name of Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro). Really, I can't understand why the devil in these films can’t be a little more subtle in naming himself. (Lou-Cipher… Get it?) Cyphre hires Angel to track down a man by the name of Johnny Favor.

Angel, like Lomax in our other film, is led down a dark path leading to more and more evil and debauchery. But fortunately for this blog, he encounters a variety of churches along the way, including a church led by a mercenary preacher who tells his congregation, “If you want to show your love for God...Open up your purses, open up your wallets. Some of you are saying, ‘You should end up in a Cadillac’ but if you love me, I should end up in a Rolls Royce.”

At one point, Angel passes a river baptism conducted by a fundamentalist congregation. Cyphre arranges to meet Angel in the pews of what seems to be a very formal church. Angel isn’t pleased at all with this meeting place and lets his client know, swearing up a storm. Cyphre instructs Angel to watch his language, but Angel replies, “I don’t give a F*%$ if this is a church. Churches give me the creeps.”

These two films have churches that seem like relatively healthy congregations and some that give me the creeps. Still, I’m going to give the various churches in these two films a Movie Churches average of Two Steeples.


I don’t usually note this, but readers should be aware that both of these films have scenes with strong language, violence, and sexual content. The Devil’s Advocate received an R rating and Angel Heart received a rare X rating. Just so you know.

Crime Month Gets an Offer it Can't Refuse

The Godfather (1972)

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film, The Godfather, is one of the most acclaimed movies of all time. It won the Oscar for Best Picture, it was the biggest moneymaker of its time, and it still shows up near or at the top of critics' lists of best films. And yet, I’m going to write less about it than I do about a Christian Slater direct-to-video stinker.

Why? Because we write about clergy and churches in movies, and a cheesy film like God’s Not Dead spends more screen time on those things than this particular classic -- which won an Oscar for the director, Coppola, screenwriter Mario Puzo, and Best Actor Marlon Brando (who refused the award and sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to accept in his place).

But the church doesn’t come up a lot in the film. We see the Godfather’s son, Michael (Al Pacino), coming out of a movie theater with his girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton). They’ve been watching The Bells of St. Mary (a contemporary film for the characters, as the scene takes place in 1946). Kay asks Michael, “Would you like me better if I was a nun?” (A rather bizarre question to ask on a date.) 

He says, “No.” 

But then she asks, “Would you like me better if I was Ingrid Bergman?” 

To that, he says, “Now that’s a thought…” But then Michael spots a headline at a newsstand. His father, mob boss Vito Corleone, has been shot. So no more nun talk.

It’s interesting that Kay wonders if Michael wishes she were more “moral,” while the film is chiefly about Michael's descent into immorality. The son of a mafia Don (Brando), he tells Kay the criminality is “my family, it’s not me,” but throughout the film, he is increasingly pulled into the family business.

The first time we see a priest is at the second wedding in the film. Don Corleone wanted Michael to be able to stay out of crime, become a lawyer or a politician, but when an attempt is made on the Don’s life, Michael seeks revenge. He commits two murders and flees to Sicily. In the small town where he's hiding, he meets a beautiful woman, is "thunderstruck," and marries her. We briefly see the priest bless the couple at the wedding, and that’s all we see of him.

Don Corleone recovers somewhat from his injuries and goes back to leading his “family.” Other crime families want to get into the business of selling narcotics, but Don Corleone resists -- though not for reasons of morality. He says, “It’s not like gambling, liquor, or even women which is something most people want nowadays, but is forbidden by the pezzonovante of the Church.” His connections in government and the police department won’t help him if he gets into the drug business. (The word “pezzonovante,” Italian for “big shots,” didn’t appear in the subtitles on the DVD I was watching, but it is interesting that the Don seems to view the bureaucrats in the church just like bureaucrats in any other worldly organization.)

When Don Corleone dies later in the film, the funeral is a traditional Catholic ceremony, and all the attendees (mostly criminals and, apparently, good Catholics) cross themselves.

The film has all of the traditional church rituals: two weddings, a funeral, and even a baptism. The baptism is the most interesting service for us here at Movie Churches.

Michael agrees to be the godfather for his sister Connie's (Talia Shire) son. In one of the most powerful sequences in the film, Michael arranges for his chief rivals and enemies to be executed at the same time as the baptism.

Michael, as his nephew's godfather, answers the traditional baptismal questions.

“Michael, do you believe in God, the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth?”

 “I do,” the killer answers.

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord?” 

 “I do,” Michael responds.

“Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church?” 

“I do,” Michael says. Is he lying or telling the truth? Great question.

Michael must answer the questions for his infant when the priest asks, “Michael Francis Rizzi, do you renounce Satan?” 

Again, the question is asked as people are being killed on his command. And Michael answers, “I do renounce him.” 

The priest continues, “And all his works?” 

And Michael answers, “I do renounce them.” 

The priest asks, “And all his pomps?” (What the heck are “pomps?”) 

“I do renounce them,” Michael answers.

And finally, the priest asks, “Michael Rizzi, will you be baptized?” 

And Michael Corleone answers for his nephew, “I will.” The priest sprinkles the baby, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (in Latin, of course). The ceremony ends with the priest's blessing, “Michael Rizzi, go in peace, and may the Lord be with you. Amen.”

The music of J. S. Bach provides a lovely accompaniment for the baptism, and a dissonant accompaniment for the assassination of Michael’s enemies, as editors William Reynolds and Peter Zinner expertly intersperse the killings with the ceremony.

The Church doesn’t come off well in this film. The members of the Mafia (a word never used in the film because of pressure from Italian heritage groups) seem to be accepted members of their Catholic churches. I know church discipline isn’t widely loved these days, but still… An active career of murder would be a reason to deny someone the sacraments, wouldn’t you think?

That’s why, though The Godfather is rightly regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, the church in the film earns a meager Two Steeples.

I Fought the Law Month: The Godfather III

The Godfather III (1990) There are three Godfather films. The first two won Oscars for Best Picture, the third did not. The first two won Oscars for acting; the third did not. The first two had Robert Duvall as a family advisor; in the third, George Hamilton takes that role. Most infamously, the third film has director Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter, Sofia as a last-minute replacement for Winona Ryder (who became ill). As an actress, Sofia Coppola proved to be a very good future film director.

The first two films are among the best films ever made. The third film, though it has some good set pieces, as a whole just isn't very good. To put in in the terms of the Corleone sons, The Godfather III is the Fredo of the series. Still, though, this film has something we appreciate greatly here at Movie Churches: priests and the church in a prominent role. The first two Godfather films have some good church cameos (particularly the christening in the first film intercut with a gangland slaughter). In this film, the Roman Catholic Church carries the central plotline as Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) tries to become respectable by taking over the Vatican Bank.

I’m kind of torn about whether this film really fits the theme of “I Fought the Law,” because the law is not much of a presence in the Godfather trilogy. I think the police make brief appearances in the first two Godfather films, but not at all in the third. The Corleones are not held responsible by civil law, but only gang and church law.

This film moves quite quickly to a church service, a “papal order induction ceremony” at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. (I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what the service was called. Basically, the service is just an excuse to butter up Michael Corleone, who gave a hundred million dollars through the Corleone Foundation to the poor of Sicily.) The film spends quite a bit of time at this service and especially at the reception that follows.

Obviously, there are a number of clergy at the reception. I was most pleased to see a clergyman of some kind named Dominic Abbandando played by Don Novelo. (Novelo also played a character on Saturday Night Live in the 1970’s, Father Guido Sarducci, the Vatican Gossip Reporter on Weekend Update.) Dominic notes that the Holy Father himself blessed Corleone, so who is anyone to question him?

One person who surely questions Michael Corleone is his ex-wife, Kay (Diane Keaton) who remembers the many crimes he committed during his rise in his criminal family. “I’m not here to see you disguised by your church. I thought that was a shameful ceremony,” she tells him.

Others disagree. The Archbishop tells Michael, “You’ve done a wonderful thing.”

Michael responds, “Let’s just be sure that this [$100 million] gets to the people who need it. 

Anthony, a young priest who is also one of Michael's godsons, is also in attendance. The Archbishop says of Anthony Vito Corleone (Franc D’Ambrosio), “There’s always a place in Rome for a fine young priest.” Sure enough, soon Anthony is serving in the Vatican.

But that gift for Sicily isn’t the end of the money the Vatican wants from Michael Corleone. Archbishop Gilday (Donal Donelly) comes to the Don saying, “I need your help. My gift was being able to persuade people to give to the Holy Church, and the Vatican put me in charge of the Vatican Bank. I was never a true banker.” It seems the church bank has a $700 million deficit -- and back in the ’70s (when this film takes place), that was real money.

Michael assures the Archbishop that none of the business he is involved in is illegitimate (never admitting he used to be in very illegitimate businesses). The archbishop says to Michael, “In today’s world, the power to absolve debt is greater than the power of forgiveness,” which doesn’t seem like a very theologically sound statement. 

Michael responds, “Don’t underestimate the power of forgiveness.” The Archbishop tells Michael he could be made the richest person in the world if he deposits $600 million in the Vatican Bank. Again Michael has a smooth response, “I have always believed that helping your fellow man is the greatest power.”

So Michael decides to pursue investing in the Church Bank and to REALLY get rid of his illegal businesses. But when he meets with the gangsters (that work for him) to divest himself of the dirty businesses, an attempted assassination via a machine gun equipped helicopter takes place. Bringing Michael to exclaim the most famous line from the film, “Just when I thought I was out… They pull me back in.”

Things don’t go much better for Michael when he tries to work his way through the church bureaucracy. Catholic business organizations in the United States don’t like the associations the Corleone name brings to the church. He finds more requests for favors and bribes within the church. He trusted the Archbishop but comes to see it as a swindle. He laments that his desire to become “legitimate” is met with more corruption in “decent” society, telling his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), “The higher I go, the crookeder it becomes.”

He seeks counsel from a trusted family advisor in Italy. He is told to see Cardinal Lamberto (Raf Vallone), “a wise and good man, very influential, he will see you.” Turns out, he is rather a good man, at least compared to everyone else in the film. Michael does go to see him.

Michael tells the Cardinal of his frustration with the corruption in modern life, even in the church. The Cardinal agrees, “Men in Europe are surrounded by Christianity, but Christ is not in them.” For a time, the Cardinal discusses church politics with Michael but then asks him if he’d like to give his confession.

Michael tells the Cardinal that it has been thirty years since his last confession, and surely the Cardinal doesn’t have time for him. “I always have time to save souls,” the Cardinal tells him.

“I’m beyond redemption,” Michael says. 

“Sometimes the desire for confession is overwhelming,” the Cardinal answers. 

Michael says, “What is the point in confessing if I don’t repent?” 

The Cardinal answers, “I hear you are a practical man, what have you got to lose?”

Michael confesses beginning with “I betrayed my wife, I betrayed myself, I killed men and ordered men to be killed.” 

“Go on, my son.” 

“I ordered the death of my brother.”

“What you have done is terrible, and it is right that you suffer,” the Cardinal tells him, “Your life can be redeemed, but I know you don’t believe that.” The priest absolves Micahel and the church bells ring.

But true to his word, in a way, Michael doesn’t repent, continuing to seek power above all else. And most of the clergy continue to do the same in the film. Most pay a heavy price for their corruption. Many clergymen suffer brutal slayings. And Michael pays a higher price.

So what is our Movie Churches rating for the Roman Catholic Church and its clergy in The Godfather III? It would be our lowest rating of One Steeple, but Cardinal Lamberto single-handedly brought the average up, so we're giving this movie Two Steeples.