Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: AGNES [Fantastic Fest 2021 - Virtual]
The texture of faith and how it challenges perceptions of daily life has been a mainstay of dramas and even horror films throughout the years. With "Agnes" [Texas Premiere], in a similar way to say "The Conjuring 3", the idea becomes what is evil versus the texture of revenge or simple mental illness against the cruelty of others.. What is unusual and both off-putting and new about "Agnes" is that it is really two films in one...more like two chapters of a five chapter series. The first part follows a would-be possession of Agnes [Hayley McFarland] where a questionable priest and a new-to-be-ordained one visit a very secular convent to investigate and/or exorcise. The progression works in a certain way but the follow up lays to a thought of faux evangelicalism but never quite follows through despite an interesting turn by Chris Downing as Father Black. It also explores the essence of temptation and reasoning without overtly explaining (though it is made clearer in the 2nd part of the film).
The film shifts in the second half to Sister Mary [Molly C. Quinn) and while her journey is interesting especially with interactions with Jake Horowitz (from "The Vast Of Night"), Chris Sullivan ("This Is Us") and Sean Gun (most recently "Weasel" in "The Suicide Squad”), it seems meandering. Now while this might be the approach of life, the movie makes a choice to keep from being gory or explicit which a refreshing approach. Mary is trying to understand her reactions but the balance of what it could truly be is only inferred. That said, the resolution is more of a question of faith against the unknown and allows the audience to make up their own minds. However, despite this more character based approach, the film doesn't pull any extraneous dread or emotional connection, making it both effective but yet disconnected, despite its obviously interested ambivalence. B-
By Tim Wassberg
