It’s no new thought that religious zeal makes people do some
admittedly crazy things. People get
swept away with thinking that religious leaders are beyond mortal existence and
seek to protect them at all costs. Salvation Boulevard calls that
unconditional trust into question. The movie
itself is all over the place, bombastic acting and choppy editing, but ultimately
that is the message. It also, and more
successfully, calls into the question the sanity of those who follow these
leaders. In particular during this
tumultuous election season which is rife with religious extremism and political
leaders acting equally as religious pundits contesting the legitimacy of
science and compassion for the sake of their religion, the message has never
seem more relevant.
In Salvation Boulevard,
Pierce Brosnan is Daniel, pastor and leader of “The Church of the Third
Millenium,” a Megachurch with throngs of followers. Carl (Greg Kinnear) is an ex-deadhead who is
now a devout follower of Daniel’s who is vying to be in Daniel’s inner
circle. When he witnesses his leader
commit a heinous act, he sees the powerful reach Daniel has at his disposal. While in a private meeting with a colleague
(Ed Harris), Daniel accidentally shoots him in the head, and soon after,
instead of doing the right and noble thing, he starts to turn the tables back
on Carl and blames him for his act. Carl
begins to question his unconditional devotion to “The Church.” Concurrently, the narrative structure also
creates a situation where the audience begins questions Carl’s reliability as a
narrator. As Carl goes on the run from
the powers that be, and as he sinks deeper into a state of paranoia, a parallel
narrative is suggested and the audience is unsure of whom to trust.
Contrasted with Carl and his questioning of the legitimacy
of The Church is his wife, Gwen (Jennifer Connolly). Gwen is an unswerving totally devoted member
of the church. When her sense of
stability gets called into question when Carl goes missing as he’s on the run
from Daniel’s thugs, her religious fervor manifests itself into what can only
be described as crazy behavior. Through Gwen,
religious zealots are linked with mental illness. To illustrate this, her coping mechanism in
time of crisis is to isolate herself in her art studio. Her paintings reflect her paranoia regarding
drug dealers and the devil pulling Carl away.
This highlights that point and directly linked religious fervor with mental
illness and socially deviant behavior.
If being suspicious of religious leadership is the message
this film is seeking to get across, it succeeds. The film is hard to watch despite the strong
cast and often feels like these professional actors are overacting to convey a
sense of campiness. The message is an
interesting one and one which is important to have as part of the national
dialogue when religion is dangerously close to becoming how our laws are
decided.
To get your copy of Salvation Boulevard you can get it here:
To get your copy of Salvation Boulevard you can get it here:
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