Heretic

 

Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in “Heretic.” https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2504771097/?ref_=ext_shr_em 
Photo and trailer courtesy of A24 - © A24 via IMDB

Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, frequent punchlines of the joke at this time of year, divide their Golden Globe nominations into two categories: Dramas, which usually dominate the Academy Awards; and everything else, which the HFPA lumps together as Comedy or Musical.

There are even more categories and subsets in the TV nominations.

This is a good way of multiplying the number of Big Stars who will show up for the Golden Globe ceremony next Sunday on CBS. 

Although the Globes aren't as much fun as they were when Ricky Gervais emceed and Jack Nicholson in his Ray-Bans was a fixture in the front row, the red-carpet soiree is still known for its open bar and tipsy attitude that separate the Globes from the more high-minded, and slightly stodgier Oscars, which will announce their nominations Jan. 17, and be presented on ABC March 2.

Among the stranger nominations in this year's Golden Globe field, Hugh Grant in “Heretic” is up for best performance by an actor in a comedy or musical.

Recognition for the actor isn't out of line. He's due, he's paid lots of dues, and this role is definitely a stretch. After decades of the adorably awkward English schoolboy charm that established him as the leading leading man in British romantic comedies, he's in something closer to Hannibal Lecter mode in “Heretic's” descent into well-bred depravity.

Aside from winking at the camera as he chews the scenery, it's hard to find what makes this a comedy.

And while Hugh's character – Mr. Reed – does sing a few lines from Radiohead's “Creep,” and references the lawsuit brought against the group by the Hollies for plagiarizing their '70s hit “The Air That I Breathe,” that doesn't exactly qualify “Heretic” as a musical.

Instead it looks more like a horror show mixing and matching from lots of templates: Oddball eccentric in a haunted house. A pair of Mormon missionaries who come knocking. Religious faith, pro and con. And whatever you do, don't go down to the cellar!

Chloe East plays Sister Paxton and Sophie Thatcher is Sister Barnes, who met Mr. Reed when they were passing out pamphlets about God's plan for us all in their rural Colorado town. Mr. Reed – a very courtly gentleman – expressed interest in learning more. He gave them his address.

Which is why we find them at the end of their rounds outside his gate. Sister Paxton, overflowing with chaste belief in the good news they're spreading, is hoping to personally save her first soul with the meeting. Sister Barnes, in contrast, may be a little worldlier than she lets on.

Still, even on first glance, Mr. Reed's house is a good place to stay away from. Just looking through the gate, the house is a slasher movie poster waiting to come to life. And that's before the prerequisite thunder and lightning begin in the sky.

But before you can say, Watch out, Sister Paxton, beware, Sister Barnes! they're at the front door and then in the living room to discover that saving Mr. Reed's soul may come with a heavy price indeed

Writer/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods concoct a psycho-spiritual game for the three to play as the tension mounts. Mr. Reed, it turns out, already knows a whole lot about Mormonism, and religion in general, and has some strong opinions on the subject. He's got things to say about the state of American society, too.

Who is this guy? A defrocked clergyman? A deranged genius? A fan of stimulating theological discussion? Or just your standard neighborhood perv with a couple of young innocents caught in his web?

It's hard to be sure as the writers trot out assorted haunted house cliches to produce a few Boo! scare-me moments to break the monotony of Mr. Reed's voice going on and on.

And that's before the action shifts to the basement, where Mr. Reed keeps his real secrets.

While “Heretic” has a few moments of actual suspense, it tends to undercut them by breaking the first rule of screenwriting: show, don't tell.

The film's climax is inspiring debate about its real, not to mention symbolic, meaning. In interviews even the filmmakers seem not to be too sure. But either way, the film's intellectual substance never gets very deep.

It took Anthony Hopkins less than 25 minutes of screen time to win an Oscar for creating one of the screen's greatest and most memorable evil archetypes – and a favorite role model for a certain incoming president. 

Hugh Grant has a lot more time on camera, and a lot more lines of dialogue, but never comes close to having the same effect.

Even if he's winking through the role, the fun of watching Hugh go to the dark side wears off long before the film comes to its confusing end.