"In the Name Of" (The Guardian 27/09/13)

In the Name Of (15) 102 mins ***

This quiet provocation from the Polish arm of Lars von Trier’s Zentropa Entertainments falls into that conflicted-cleric subgenre encompassing everything from The Thorn Birds to Antonia Bird’s Priest. The tightening dog collar here belongs to Adam (Andrzej Chyra), who – after several muttered-about transfers – has been stranded at a rural retreat for teenage tearaways, where he finds regular woodland runs can’t burn off a growing sense of isolation. Co-writer/director Malgoska Szumowska, improving upon 2011’s Elles, downplays the conflicts in a scenario apparently ripe for torrid melodrama, allowing both story and characters to reveal themselves at their own pace. The gotcha-like ending may prove debatable, but Szumowska refuses to judge her lonely protagonist, instead placing him within a persuasive atmosphere of stifled longing: every lingering magic-hour sunbeam serves as an encouragement to leave the church’s darker spaces behind and come out into the light.

In the Name Of opens in selected cinemas nationwide from today.