The Play's the Thing at Movie Churches Act One: (Because you want More...)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)
We're kicking off the year here at Movie Churches with a new theme: “The Play’s the Thing.” During January, we'll be looking at plays adapted to film (as always, they're films with clergy and/or churches). This week’s film, A Man For All Seasons barely qualifies though. It’s about a layman, Sir Thomas More, who was a politician during the time of Henry VIII of England. Even though he wasn't a clergyman, he had plenty to say about the church, and though he tried to avoid it, he gave his life for the Church. Eventually, the Roman Catholic Church made him a saint, so I guess that counts for something.

Robert Bolt’s first telling of More's story was in the form of a radio play in 1954. Then it was a teleplay for the BBC in 1957. It took to the stage at the Globe Theater in London and went on to Broadway, where it was a hit that ran for a year. It was adapted for the screen in 1966 and won the Academy Award for Best Picture along with an Oscar for Bolt, director Fred Zinnemann, and Best Actor for Paul Scofield for his performance of as Sir Thomas More.

In our first view of More in the film, he’s laughing as others mock the priests of the church (in England at the time, the Roman Catholic Church was the only church). A man jokes,  "Every second bastard is fathered by a priest.”

Another man makes a reference to More’s classic book, Utopia, “Why, in Utopia that couldn’t be.” 

“But why?” 

“Well, there the priests are very holy.” 

“Therefore, very few.” 

Sir Thomas seems to find the whole conversation rather amusing.

More lived in a turbulent time. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other reformers were leading movements to break from the Roman Catholic Church in various parts of Europe. More’s critical writings about the Church inspired some of these men, but ultimately, More remained faithful to the Catholic Church.

When a good young man, Matthew Roper, came to ask if he could marry More's  daughter, Alice, More refused. Roper was sympathetic to the Reformers. More, who liked Roper, still wouldn't allow his daughter to marry a “heretic.” The situation leads to family tension.

But it's nothing compared to the tension that begins when the King, Henry the VIII, wants to break from the Roman Catholic Church. The other Reformers had theological differences with the Church regarding faith, works, grace, and salvation. Henry’s disagreement was over whether he’d get his own way.

Henry had been given a special papal dispensation to marry his brother’s wife after his brother’s death. But that wife, Catherine of Aragon, gave Henry no sons, so Henry wanted to divorce Catherine to marry a younger woman, Anne Boleyn. The pope would not grant the divorce, so Henry decided that England would leave the Catholic Church. He would create a Church of England --  the Anglican Church.

Of course, Henry tried to put his decision in a holy light. He said he should never have been allowed to marry Catherine in the first place. God was punishing him for this sin by denying him an heir.  Since the king's was correcting his earlier error, anyone who opposed his course of action was opposing God as well. King Henry (Robert Shaw) says, “I have no queen! Catherine’s not my wife! No priest can make her so! They that say she is my wife are not only liars but traitors!”

At this turbulent time, More was the King's Chancellor. Naturally, all who served the king were expected to endorse and support the King’s policy, so More resigned from his position without saying anything against the king. More, a lawyer, argued that the law -- technically -- takes "silence" to mean consent. 

The people of England, though, know that More believes the king to be wrong in his decision to leave the Roman Catholic Church (and to marry Anne). Forces within the King’s administration, particularly Thomas Cromwell (Leo McKern) attempt to require More to choose between supporting the king in verbal or written form -- or being executed for treason. 

More uses every trick and twist he can find in the law to keep himself alive. In the end, he refuses to violate his own conscience and stays true to the Church. And loses his head to the executioner.

I probably should admit why I included this film even though More isn’t a clergyman. This is one of my favorite plays and screenplays, and More is one of my heroes.

Come to think of it, there is one clergyman presented prominently in the film: Cardinal Wolsey, a slippery fox of a politician in a red church robe. People say he’s “a butcher’s son, still a butcher.” Like most of the clergy in England of the time, he is more than willing to sell his soul to the king and those in power when it is to his advantage to do so.

As More says of Richard Rich, a man who betrays him, “Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world… but for Wales?”

The church in this film -- both the Roman Catholic and the Anglican -- doesn’t come off too well. I’ll give it a rating of Two Steeples. As for Sir Thomas More? I’m sure he wouldn’t care what I rated him.

When More tried to persuade Richard Rich to stay away from politics for his own good, he said, “Why not be a teacher? You’d be a fine teacher; perhaps a great one.”

Rich asked “If I was, who would know it?”

More replied, “You. Your pupils, your friends. God. Not a bad public, that.”

Christmas Movie Churches About Money... Maybe

Millions (2004)
All due respect to A Charlie Brown Christmas, but I'm over lectures in Christmas entertainment about materialism. Especially when the message is interrupted by commercials with new car keys given as “stocking stuffers” and the Little Drummer Boy bringing Coke to the manger. An exception to this rule is Danny Boyle’s thoughtful and charming 2004 feature, Millions.

It tells the story of an English boy, Damian, who recovers a satchel of cash that falls (as far as he can tell) from the sky. He shares his find with his brother, Anthony, who warns him they can’t let anyone know about the find, or the government will “take away 40%. That’s nearly all of it.” Anthony is torn between buying cool things and investing wisely, whereas Damian would like to give the money to the poor.

An added complication is that the money is in pounds, and the nation is about to convert to the Euro. (When the film was made, it seemed likely that Britain would change from their current monetary system of pounds, crowns, pennies, guineas, nobles, shillings, parsnips, topsy poos, wattle nellies, and daring shanks to the European Union's system of Euros. Brexit has, of course, changed all that.) Anthony and Damian need to do something with the money before the conversion or it will be worthless. Another complication that the boys don't realize at first is that the money is stolen -- and the thief is looking for it.

The film is set at Christmas time. Though there are no churches in the film, the boys' school may have some church connection. It's called All Saints, they encourage charitable giving, and they perform a Nativity Play complete with a donkey on wheels to take Mary to Bethlehem. There is clergy in the film -- top clergy -- saints, in fact. Saints appear to Damian (though no one else can see them).

St. Clare of Assisi is the first saint Damian sees, and she tells Damian she's the patron saint of visions, and therefore, television. She smokes cigarettes, and when Damien asks if that is allowed in heaven, she assures him you can do whatever you want in heaven. Damian asks if Clare has seen a Saint Maureen, and she tells him no. Maureen is Damian and Anthony’s mother who recently passed away.

St. Francis of Assisi encourages Damian in his desire to give money to the poor, much to Anthony’s annoyance. Damian takes a group of street beggars to Pizza Hut where they order extravagantly, and he puts a thousand pounds into a robotic bin at their school that's raising money to dig wells for clean water in Africa. When his donation is identified, both boys are sent to the principal’s office. Anthony says they stole the money so they can keep the real secret (and the rest of the money) from being discovered.

Damian is also visited by a group of saints, the martyrs of Uganda. 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic converts to Christianity were executed for their faith in the Kingdom of Buganda (now Uganda). Damian notices they are praying desperately for something and learns they are praying for water. The martyr encourages him to use his money to build wells.

The Apostle Peter also visits Damian, noting he's the patron saint of security. He encourages Damian to keep the key to his old house safe, and he encourages Damian to lead by example, citing the story of the boy who gave his bread and fish prior to the feeding of the 5,000. Peter claims the only miracle that happened that day is that people were encouraged by the boy’s example to share themselves. All four of the Gospel writers shared this story, and if that’s what happened, I think one of them would have said so instead of telling the story as they did. It's a case of bad theology from a screenwriter being put in the mouth of a saint.

Which is really too bad, because there is so much good theology in the film. The whole story works like one of the parables Jesus told. Jesus told the parable of the shrewd manager  (Luke 16) who used his master’s wealth for the short time it was in his possession to ensure himself a prosperous future. The expiring money in the film reminds us that worldly wealth is fleeting and is most wisely for the benefit of the Kingdom of God.

At Christmas time (and all year through), it is good to think of gifts we can give that will be of eternal worth -- like giving water to the thirsty and food to the hungry. Jesus said gifts like that have eternal value.

I love the film as a whole, but because Saint Peter’s theology in the movie doesn’t match his theology in Scripture, we can’t give the saints of this film our highest rating, but they still earn a solid 3 Steeples.