God Doesn't Always Answer Our Prayers (Apparitions (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Apparitions (DVD)
Date:	04/05/09 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gory, gruesome, creepy and dramatic

Disadvantages: The conclusion is not as lucid as the rest of it

A review of the BBC TV series Apparitions that was first broadcast in 2008. The region 2 DVD was released in January 2009 and you can get it online for around £10.

In a quiet London parish, a priest named Father Jacob is one of the few priests authorised by the Vatican to undertake exorcisms. When a young girl named Donna visits Jacob, he is startled to hear that she claims that her father has been possessed by demons. Initially dismissed by the priest's assistant, Jacob is himself a little more sympathetic and agrees to investigate further, discovering that the girl's father does indeed appear to have been possessed. But Jacob has little understanding of the growing severity of the problem. A mysterious stranger appears before both Father Jacob and a young Indian priest in his care, who is struggling to balance his faith against a deeply personal secret. The Vatican grows increasingly sceptical of Jacob's beliefs and Jacob's insistent investigations of Donna's father bring the priest into conflict with the authorities. But Jacob must stand strong. Exorcism is his only weapon, but as he soon discovers, it may not always be enough....

Produced in six hourly episodes, Apparitions is one of the boldest BBC productions that have been released for some time. Drenched in religious history and philosophy, the series manages to cram nearly every taboo subject conceivable into its relatively modest running time. How many other series can boast content that includes rape, war crimes, abortion, religious fanaticism, child abuse, homosexuality and a bible covered in freshly cleaved human skin? It's startling stuff, and a credit to writer and director Joe Ahearne that the tale was conceived in a reasonably competent manner.

Initially, it feels a bit like Casualty with demons. The opening episode is a little slow to get going and the obvious BBC production values suggest that this is just going to be another faceless drama. But as Ahearne starts to weave his wicked little tale, it soon becomes clear that there is more to this than initially meets the eye, particularly when the initial episode culminates in a boldly visceral violent murder. From there, the pace briskly speeds up and over the next five episodes the story becomes more convoluted, more intriguing and rather more elaborate. There are a number of twists and turns and narrative elements that initially appear to be self-contained "mini-stories" but then gradually reveal themselves to be part of a bigger picture. Ahearne decidedly avoids the risk of stuffing the thing full of genre cliché and any expectation that this would simply be a story featuring foul-mouthed, vomiting teenaged girls will certainly not be met.

The content of the narrative is impressive and the scope of the tale unusual for such a drama. Despite the relatively short running time, the story manages to consider many elements of the Catholic faith and whilst Father Jacob is clearly the hero of the piece, the writer seems to challenge many of the traditional 'rights and wrongs'. Whilst Apparitions is, at its heart, a good old-fashioned tale of good versus evil, the writer uses the concept of possession to blur these boundaries, indicating that good people can be made to do bad things and concentrates on the importance of faith in this battle. Despite the heavy religious content, the narrative rarely ever preaches at the audience, allowing viewers to make up their own minds about things and Ahearne is respectful of different faiths and beliefs. Indeed, one of the chapters features an Islamic family, whose youngest son appears to be having imposing Christian visions. Ahearne goes to some pains to show affinity (and indeed affection) between the two religions, in a way that few films and dramas would even consider in the current religious climate. With only a limited knowledge of such things, it's hard for this writer to comment on the accuracy of some of the ideals presented in Apparitions but Ahearne's writing certainly seems to be well researched, lucid and plausible.

For a television series, the production is frequently shocking and it was amazing that the series didn't draw much stronger criticism when it was originally screened. It isn't just the gore that's quite shocking (episode one portrays a considerably violent death in a sauna) but also the nature of many of the other plot elements. A woman is burnt to death, the camera focusing close up on her smoking, charred fleshy features. A heavily pregnant 70 year-old woman arrives at an abortion clinic, screaming demands that they rid her of her evil child. A prison inmate displays religious injuries. A young rape victim considers the morning after pill. A man confined to a wheelchair is drowned in a swimming pool. The drama maintains a strong element of shocking surprise, simply through the writer's willingness to do anything to anyone. This is very appealing, not because unpleasant things happen to unpleasant people but because the production isn't shackled by the usual BBC sensitivities and is one of few truly horrific horror dramas that can be recalled getting to the small screen. The use of special effects is moderated but effective and doesn't detract from the realistic feel of things. For the DVD release, the series has been awarded a 15-certificate, which, occasionally, feels a little inadequate and there are times when this verges closer to an 18.

It helps enormously that the drama can boast an extremely strong cast. Martin Shaw's portrayal of Father Jacob is something of a revelation. Compassionate and decisive, Jacob is the sort of priest that would persuade many people to convert to the faith. Absolute in his beliefs and sensitive to those of others, Shaw's character is enormously engaging, thanks to the actor's compelling performance. His assistant Sister Ruth (Siobhan Finneran) is also excellent. Sister Ruth is essentially the antidote to Jacob's open beliefs and (initially at least) demonstrates a cold, standoffish approach to Jacob's work. Finneran's solid performance also manages to avoid cliché and despite her hardened exterior, there's a hidden depth to Sister Ruth that's hard not to like. Elsewhere there are strong performances from Shaun Dooley as the young girl's possessed father, Luigi Diberti as Jacob's oldest friend and more notably John Shrapnel, whose conniving and rather sinister portrayal of Cardinal Bukovak is central to the whole thing.

It's not perfect, of course. The narrative does make some assumptions and generalisations that are likely to draw criticism and some of the clues or indications of possession that Father Jacob investigates are perhaps a little over-simplified. As the thing hurtles on to its dramatic conclusion, it's fair to say that the story becomes a little convoluted and suffers from a succession of small but dramatic events that seem to confuse the eventual climax set amidst an assassination attempt on the Pope. The recurring 'good versus demons' occasionally threatens to become a bit predictable too, as it soon becomes the case that pretty much everyone who comes into the tale is possessed in some way.

These are, however, more forgivable mishaps than disastrous mistakes. Overall, the series is dramatic, exciting and often very creepy. There's rather more substance here than a conventional exorcism movie that would really focus on the "money shots" and for a more character-driven drama that is still very exciting, this is really good stuff. Sadly, a second series of the show seems unlikely given the very low viewing figures and this will almost certainly be the first and last time that we meet Father Jacob.

Summary: An exorcist finds a host of demons attacking him