Monsignor (1982) * 1/2

Directed by:  Frank Perry

Starring:  Christopher Reeve, Genevieve Bujold, Fernando Rey, Joe Cortese, Jason Miller

The film Monsignor is every bit as ambiguous as its lead character, a Vatican priest named Father Flaherty (Reeve) who leads a cash-strapped Vatican into shady business with the black market during the waning days of World War II.      He also falls in love with a nun while omitting the fact that he is a priest, although what difference this makes isn't made very clear.     The nun (Bujold) is perfectly willing and able to love Flaherty, but rejects him once he is revealed to be a priest.     Father Flaherty is a fool to believe he could keep it a secret from her since they move in the same circles.     The film would've been better off if both rejected their vows and left the church.     

Monsignor takes a very strange view of sin and sinning.     Father Flaherty has no apparent issue with money laundering and mob dealings during his tenure with the Vatican, while the church tacitly approves the scheming because it brings money into the coffers.     However, he is apparently guilt-ridden when romancing the nun.     The film takes the position that this priest's most damning sin was having sex, which causes Father Flaherty to pause while thinking nothing of dealing with murderers and thieves like the local Don.

Christopher Reeve plays Father Flaherty and does the best he can with a character that really isn't bad enough to be a villain and of course not good enough to be a hero.     He is awfully naive about the ways of the mob, especially when he believes he was able to spare a friend's life because the Don "swore on my cross".     The Don (Miller) has a clever rebuke to this action when he bumps off Flaherty's friend.     

The film begins in World War II Italy and skips forward in time three decades to a critical point when Flaherty has to account for $600 million in missing Vatican and mob money.     The interesting thing about this is how Reeve and another character now have gray hair, while the other characters like the Pope and cardinals didn't age a day.      Maybe the makeup guys thought they were old to begin with, so no one would really notice.    Even the Don, who is not exactly a spring chicken when Flaherty first meets him, only winds up a little gray.     Perhaps being a mob boss isn't as stressful as Tony Soprano makes it out to be, or he has a large supply of Just For Men hair color on hand.

Monsignor is never truly compelling because it never establishes any tone or true conflict.     Father Flaherty is neither fish nor fowl, while no point of view is really given to the Vatican.      They never get their dander up about much of anything.     I would think they would be angrier about losing $600 million than they are.      But perhaps showing anger would show the Vatican in a negative light, which Monsignor doesn't really want to do.      It is a movie where nobody wants to be the bad guy.