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Would you be interested in a movie about an abortionist? Many will likely avoid Mike Leigh's film Vera Drake when they hear about its subject matter. Perhaps they assume the film is merely a propaganda piece for defenders of abortion. If they knew that Christian film critics would come forward celebrating it as "one of the best films of this year," perhaps they would give it a chance.

"Mike Leigh's … outdone himself with Vera Drake," says Stefan Ulstein (Christianity Today Movies). "[It's] the best film Leigh has made and one of the best films of this year. Imelda Stanton … turns in the performance of a lifetime. Some films succeed because of an incisive and compelling script, or brilliant performances. Others capture a mood or time so flawlessly that we forget we're watching a movie. Still others give us a new way to look at difficult issues—including those issues on which we already have firm convictions. Vera Drake excels in all of these. It's a seamless vision, executed by a master filmmaker. In a hopelessly polarized debate, [Leigh] allows us all to see real people involved in real situations. It is a film that will keep people on either side of the abortion debates talking. Perhaps they will even talk to one another."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) praises Staunton, the cast, the screenplay, and the director. "Leigh is careful not to make any of the authority figures … villains. As this small, feisty, utterly ordinary woman, Staunton gives an indelible performance. Tremendous as she is … the entire cast is simply superb. As for the abortion theme, the procedure isn't glorified in any way. The director leaves conclusions to the viewer, many of whom are likely to note that there is retribution on every level—personal and public—for Vera's well-intentioned, if misguided, actions."

Based on the reactions of mainstream film critics, it seems that those who skip Vera Drake will miss out on what may well be the year's best performance by an actress: Imelda Staunton is winning raves for her turn as a naïve nurse dedicated to "helping young women" but blind to the damage caused by her endeavors.

The Holy Scriptures encourage us not to go to bed angry. Director Takashi Shimizu's international horror film hit Ju-On goes one step further—it tells us not to take any serious complaint with us to the grave. Ju-On is a ghost story in which those who die in the throes of a deeply rooted anger leave behind a terrible curse that wreaks havoc on the living.

Rather than let an American filmmaker create a mediocre version of his own movie, Shimizu has taken the reins of a remake himself in The Grudge, starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Unfortunately, it looks like the "curse" of American remakes has won another victory. Despite Shimizu's involvement, mainstream critics are bearing a grudge against this inferior version of the film, and religious press critics apparently feel the same way.

Tom Neven (Plugged In) gives a mixed review: "Shimizu has crafted a creepy, ghost- and goblin-filled fright flick that manages to scare the daylights out of you while going relatively light on gore and violence. He understands that our imaginations can conjure far greater horrors than can be shown on a screen, something Alfred Hitchcock was a master at—a lesson that Hollywood at large seems to have forgotten. This raises a question of ethics and morality, though: How far can a storyteller go to stoke our primal fears before it crosses the line into exploitation? Hitchcock had a clear understanding of where that line rests; Shimizu's vision doesn't seem quite as clear."

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October (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48