FILM REVIEW - THE CLUB (2015)

Living in exile in, four disgraced priests and a nun occupy a small house in Chile. All of these priests have done something wrong. This strange open prison, disguised as a 'retirement home' is a refuge of sorts for the transgressed. Each priest has been shunned by their respective churches due to allegations of child abuse. Rather than allow for an inquiry, which in many ways would bring shame to the Catholic church and their religion, they choose to exile these priests to an unassuming house by the sea. Unbeknownst to the local community, this strange brotherhood of the disgraced have their routines destroyed when a new priest arrives. An unstable man, who was sexually abused by one of the flocks, waits outside the property and begins to cause a scene. 

Director Pablo Larrain's script gives Sandokan an explosion of almost unbearable, graphic descriptions of the abuse he endured. Given a gun by one of the residents, the new 'inmate' priest shoots himself. The church catch wind of this event and sends Father Garcia, a fixer of sorts to the house. Upon his initial inspection, he is appalled by the level of daily sins which Sister Monica, the house leader (another disgraced member of the church) allows. Alcohol drinking, betting on greyhound races and mutiple obsense conversations is enough for Father Garcia to want to shut this 'club' down. Garcia begins his inquiry into the death of the recently deceased priest. He sees a picture of their denials and self-delusions, claiming legitimate reasons for their appalling actions. All the priests and even Sister Monica soon realise that they must fight together to prevent the house's closure. 

In many ways 'The Club' plays out like a good piece of chamber theatre. The writing here has great depth and isn't sly to pose bold questions about faith, religion and redemption. Pablo Larrain has always been a director who directly addresses politics, even if he ventures into genre terrority at times 'Tony Manero' being a great example of this. The grimy atmosphere is insufferable, overwhelming even at times. 'The Club' is a complex knot of self-deception. The script is crafted not too serve a tradition plot but to give focus on characterisation. Given the subject matter and the repungant backstories of all of these priests, it's surprisingly that I found a lot of emotional connection to all of the house's residents. This is a script that is about guilt and denial, the corruption of the Catholic church. Father Garcia is an ambigious character. When we first meet him we are unsure of may or may not be homosexual. Given the fact that everyone else is upfront and clear with their sexuality, no matter how ugly or dispicable they maybe, Garcia remains neutral. The longer he spends at the 'club' the greater danger of being seen as being an accomplice to a cover-up. 

'The Club' is a masterpiece of subtly. There is a great haunting quality to this film. The extreme explosions of graphic depictions of child abuse is as powerful as it is repulsive. The acting and writing is the true highlight here. The interactions and monologues delivered in the tight, well diversed script are rich with complexity and contradiction. By the end of the film, you soon realise that nothing is left to chance. Everything that happened has a greater purpose. The final revolution exposes how far people will go to protect their religion, even if that means committing acts of great sin.