#moose rambles

God. This movie. Auuugh when it comes out on Netflix I need to rewatch it so I can be more accurate but here goes.

What I am fascinated most by in this movie is the idea and theme of storytelling and belief. There is also something to be said about credibility but I’m still sitting on that one. One of the first things Benoit and Father Jud talk about when he enters the church is its storytelling. And something of a thesis is stated by Jud when he asks if (and I’m paraphrasing here) these stories are lies or if they’re a way to get to a deeper truth and this is one of the only ways we know how to get there.

These are kind of half formed thoughts so excuse me for rambling without a conclusion. Let me break it down.

We see the art of storytelling used by Monsignor Wicks when discussing his mother, the myth of the Scarlet Harlot, and how it’s utilized to make the church feel as though it’s built on sin and shame. A whore came in a desecrate this place, doesn’t that make you angry? Same thing with his confessions. He’s spinning up a yarn to purposefully piss off and disgust Father Jud, poking him until he bites back. AND his homilies, where he tries to get people to walk out as a means of making everyone else feel more faithful. But he really honestly does believe this anger is useful, is purposeful in keeping himself safe and fighting. He also knows the power he wields because of the whole plan to expose the regulars in his last homily.

Then there’s the storytelling of Cy, his out of context clips and his co-opting of Mons. Wicks homilies for his own narrative. It’s constructed to be angry and reactionary, and I severely doubt his belief in any of that. Cy is so quick to stop giving a shit about Wicks once he’s dead. He’s ALSO the one who recorded the meeting, where everyone else’s shit got laid bare.

Lee Ross is a fucking writer for gods sake, it’s the most basic form of crafting a narrative. And the route he takes is by placing himself alongside Wicks, trying to elevate himself out of this pit he’s in. He believes this work will restore some credibility, and there’s also the minor reflection of Wicks here where he hates his audience but they’re also the ones supporting him. Lee wants to be important so bad. To believe.

Simone… god, Simone. She’s basically jumping from one belief to another, trying to find something that will save her and fix her. Her faith in doctors failed her, and her faith in Wicks did too. He outright says he can’t heal her, not because it would take a miracle or any other reason but because (once again this is based off memory) he can’t heal someone without faith. But she did have it, in him. Because that was the story she was told and wanted to believe in.

Samson stopped drinking because Wicks had said if he could stop, so could Samson. And yet Wicks was still drinking. AND. AND. JUD KNEW THAT IF THE FLASK WAS REVEALED THEN IT WOULD BREAK SAMSONS BELIEF AND PROBABLY HIS SOBRIETY so this comes back to his thesis, are they lies or are they ways to access something greater, ie Samson’s own willpower?

Nat crafted a story for himself (or maybe this was what his wife said?? This was at the start of the movie so rip my memory there) that the reason his wife left him was because he wasn’t rich enough or successful enough. And he believed that if he got enough money, he could get her back.

Vera is also one of the more obvious examples of this, both being told a story and making one herself. Her dad told her that Cy was her brother, everyone believed he was the illegitimate son of said father, and yet the truth is that he’s Wicks’ kid. Vera also tells herself that everything she did for Cy is a good thing, that her dad would be proud of her, when it’s very clear this is a tool to help her cope with the shit situation her father put her in. It’s this compounding layer of narrative and justification and belief that finally snaps when she gets a call about Wicks claiming parentage of Cy (well after he’s grown). And they way the goal posts change when she confronts him, the way they close ranks on her is just- gaaah

Now up until this point I’ve just sort of talked about story as it relates to Wicks (essentially, cause they’re all connected to him in some way) so let me move past that for a little bit.

Jud’s relationship with story is so interesting to me. The first act is entirely the narrative as he writes it, handing it to Blanc to read, and he says something about not saying the true part aloud or something like that. Basically leaving shit out is how you get around outright lying. The evolving narrative of that guy he killed in the ring, not saying he did it out of hatred until later. The leaving out of the flask so that Samson can still believe. Asking Blanc why HE thinks Jud became a priest. The genuine belief that he killed Samson because of how it was framed. Leaving out the finding of the gem when asked. I’m not nearly Catholic enough to be able to overlay the religious connotations to this whole thing though.

The narrative of the Apple of Eve is also suffused throughout. The story that this gem, this much money, will corrupt is both believed and seemingly confirmed because why else would Nat try to get rid of both Martha and Samson? Why else would Cy be so intent on getting it? It’s kinda like The Pearl of Death a little. But see, Jud has it. And he isn’t corrupted by it, he just sticks it in a crucifix. Because there is some human truth to that much tempting wealth making terrible people, but it is not universal.

And this idea of storytelling as a tool that can help or hurt isn’t restricted to the religious in this movie. It extends to Benoit Blanc. He talks a bit about his checkmate moment in cases where the facts are laid out and the culprit revealed. But when it comes time in this movie he pulls back. This harkens back to two things, the pew walk outs and a line Jud says about needing to confess on his own or it won’t count (or something to that effect). To stand before a crowd and point the finger at someone, is in a way another tactic of shame and a way to reinforce the faith of those around you. You believe, when it’s laid out, that this person is wrong, and thank god you’re not getting accused, and you’re not in the wrong. He’s literally using the stage Wicks used for that same shit. Plus Martha’s dying, AND Cy is recording, so it would be blasted everywhere. It’s a moment of vindication, and it makes the case about Blanc. Which is why it’s so fucking fascinating to me that it isn’t Blanc spelling out the murder this time, it’s Martha choosing to tell it in her own words.

Martha, who talks about the crime scene telling a story, who wanted to make Wicks a saint and a miracle even when he isn’t. Martha, whose belief in the evil and corruption of power caused her to conspire to kill that same man. Martha, who finally sees through the story of the scarlet harlot right before she dies. Who takes care of a building built on myth and story.