Critic Reviews
| 80 |
Film Threat
Bob Westal
It's not often that a film changes history, but it's just possible that Irish writer-director John Deery's righteously energetic Conspiracy of Silence just might help alter the course of 21st century Catholicism.
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| 70 |
The Hollywood Reporter
A challenging, thought-provoking debut that compassionately questions the relevance of celibacy in the Catholic Church.
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| 60 |
The New York Times
Anita Gates
Deery's modest drama is one big, obvious argument against the vow of celibacy for Roman Catholic priests, but it has heart.
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| 50 |
New York Daily News
Deery's points are well-taken, but they would have been a lot better made if he hadn't taken so many easy shots at the church by demonizing its local authorities.
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| 50 |
New York Post
Touches on issues raised in "Bad Education," but without Pedro Almodovar's flamboyant elegance.
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| 50 |
Variety
Jay Weissberg
Deery lays out a story devoid of subtlety, in which characters are too easily pigeonholed and issues exist only in absolutes.
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| 50 |
Entertainment Weekly
Want Jesuitical fineness of argument? Look elsewhere. This one merely answers the prayers of those looking for an argument.
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| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
The story meanders, but the subject is timely and important.
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| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Feels like a personal vendetta.
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| 50 |
Miami Herald
A film based on this information is potentially interesting, but Conspiracy of Silence, set in modern-day Ireland, is incoherent and often hard to follow.
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| 40 |
Village Voice
Ed Halter
Due to Conspiracy's TV-movie simplicity, it's unclear whether this is an actual issue, or just something spicy to be cooked up in the potboiler.
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| 40 |
TV Guide
The limp thriller plot Deery constructs to frame his theological inquiries is both artificial and not very interesting, a lethal combination.
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| 30 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
A well-intentioned but ultimately incompetent Irish dud.
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