Stigmata (1999)

Stigmata v's two hours of sleep: a close

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Aug 31, 2000 | 1 out of 1 found this Stigmata (1999) review helpful

Let's make one thing perfectly clear first of all: Stigmata is not a good movie. There are a number of members of the production team who, quite frankly, need a crash course in movie making. For example, whilst the Director of Photography has done a... good job, the script writers, sadly, have not.But let's start with the few good points that make up Stigmata. Firstly, the film looks superb, particularly on DVD. The picture has been delibrately 'grayed' by reducing the color levels. This has been done to make the blood, when it comes, appear particularly vivid. Stigmata also has a fair soundtrack which, although not especially memorable, serves the movie well. The DVD version also comes with a lot of extras, although the only inspiring one is a documentary on the stigmata phenomenon.Now, however, we move on to the rather less brilliant areas of Stigmata which, sadly, vastly outweigh its good points. The script is awful, a mish mash of ideas which never quite seem to gel. It's almost as if the writers ran out of ideas halfway through and so introduced the customary 'love interest' between Arquette and the preacher, a ridiculous notion which makes the movie even harder to believe. Fans of Stigmata will be interested to know that a sex scene was actually cut out of the final version, which is just as well as this would have made it even more laughable.The movie takes too long to get going and takes too long to end. The audience is left with more questions than answers and is just as unlightened about the stigmata phenomenon as before the film started. The performance from the lead, Patricia Arquette, is reasonable but not convincing, hardly surprising given the shoddy script she had to work with. At the end of the movie, which I watched with an open mind and indeed as a fan of Arquette following the brilliant True Romance, I was left with one lingering sensation: boredom.Steer well clear of Stigmata; it is an interesting concept but will not move you to the edge of your seat. You'll be better off getting a couple of hours sleep instead. Read more Less