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Film Review: AGNES: A Peculiar and Darkly Comedic Approach to Faith in Crisis [Fantasia 2021]

Zandy Hartig Molly C. Quinn Mary Buss Rachel True Agnes 01

Agnes Review

Agnes (2021) Film Review from the 25th Annual Fantasia International Film Festival, a movie directed by Mickey Reece, starring Molly C. Quinn, Sean Gunn, Hayley McFarland, Chris Browning, Rachel True, Jake Horowitz, Zandy Hartig, Bruce Davis, Chris Freihofer, Heather Siess, Ben Hall, Lorri Bohnert, Ginger Gilmartin, Cait Brasel, Mary Buss, Jacob Ryan SnovelNick Swezey, and Chris Sullivan.

Oklahoma’s filmmaking workhorse Mickey Reece is back with Agnes, another microbudget indie feature with enough dark comedy to fill your communion-plate to the brim.

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In what appears to be Reece’s twentieth-odd feature, Agnes follows Father Donaghue (Ben Hall) and his student Benjamin (Jake Horowitz) as they travel to the Diocese’s reclusive convent where a young nun Agnes (Hayley McFarland) is reportedly possessed by a demonic spirit. Although Donaghue doesn’t believe in possession he thinks the rite of exorcism has a good placebo effect on one’s psyche, and he’s willing to go through the motions to appease that perception. (That, and the fact that Donaghue ultimately has no say in the Diocese’s decision to relocate him, especially in the wake of abuse allegations starting to percolate amongst his parishioners.)

The convent, kept strictly pious by the Mother Superior (Mary Buss), is wary of having two men in their presence, but they relent out of wanting Agnes to be quickly cured. Unfortunately for her Agnes’ demon is stubborn and refuses to be cast out, so Donaghue and Benjamin are forced to hunker down for a while. As the days tick by Donaghue seeks out the help of the ex-communicated celebrity priest Father Black (Chris Browning) to help in the rite, much to the chagrin of Mother Superior and Benjamin, who brings with him eccentric methods that will put everyone’s concepts of faith to the test.

Reece’s style is astutely enigmatic, welcoming one in with calling cards of normalcy before throwing one for loop after head-scratching loop. It’s an incredibly odd dichotomy of the familiar and the strange – not in a way that prevents Agnes from being indiscernible nor unwatchable, but rather in a way that makes it play like an unsolvable puzzle. Although, being able to experience it for a second time (I originally caught it back in June at Tribeca) does add the slightest bit of clarity.

For instance, Agnes is really funny. Some may balk at that claim due to the film’s air of self-seriousness and its oddly divided plot, but Reece is relying on those high-brow signposts and our expectations of genre in order to then subvert them – sometimes for uncharacteristic details (Sister Honey taking the Lord’s name in vain when she’s flirted with), sometimes for sarcastic chuckles (Sister Ruth breaking politeness to admonish Father Donaghue’s talents after Agnes attacks him), and sometimes for uncomfortable laughter as a coping mechanism for the sheer awkwardness of a situation (the priests writing off Benjamin’s concerns with belly laughs of their own, or Mary and Paul’s awkward small talk at the laundromat). The humor doesn’t always land, but you can see how Reece is keeping us on our toes by digging it out from so many unexpected spots.

Agnes is also a surprisingly deep meditation on the power of faith, and to what extent we allow it to influence our lives. Despite what the title may suggest, the “possessed” Agnes is not the focus but rather her close friend Mary is, terrifically portrayed by Molly C. Quinn. We learn that she joined the convent after experiencing a great personal loss, and she ends up leaving it after not achieving the spiritual peace she so craved. In a climactic scene with Benjamin she questions how one can really know God, and the suggested conclusion Mary reaches is that it might not be worth trying for due to all the suffering one will have to endure regardless. Even Father Donaghue alludes to this earlier on, warning Benjamin that it’s not worth taking the rites of priesthood if you harbor any doubts (while simultaneously alluding to doubt as an inevitable and inescapable aspect of life).

Reece, however, isn’t content with giving us a straight-up atheistic or even non-denominational win. Rather, he seems to suggest that all forms of belief (or lack thereof) are but coping mechanisms that we use to rationalize our hardships in life, and that we’ll never be fully rid of our demons because they are interwoven into the very fabric of our being. Spiritual maturity comes with the acceptance that perfection is unattainable on this mortal coil, and that all a belief system (or even life overall) can truly offer us is momentary bouts of growth and enlightenment – symbolized, quite literally, as Mary experiences pivotal moments in which she is suddenly illuminated in a bright white glow (like seeing Paul Satchimo, portrayed by a rather sardonic Sean Gunn, perform stand-up for the first time). It’s pessimistic spirituality, if such a thing exists.

And therein lies the explainer for Reece’s strange sense of humor: we have to laugh at the sanctity and self-seriousness of it all, because we can’t do much else. Just like religious belief, laughter is sometimes the only thing we have to help us cope. Life sure is a funny thing of serious contradictions, ainnit?

Rating: 7/10

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Jacob Mouradian

A Midwest transplant in the Big Apple, Jacob can never stop talking about movies (it’s a curse, really). Although a video editor and sound mixer by trade, he’s always watching and writing about movies in his spare time. However, when not obsessing over Ken Russell films or delving into some niche corner of avant-garde cinema, he loves going on bike rides, drawing in his sketchbook, exploring all that New York City has to offer, and enjoying a nice cup of coffee.
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