Director Report Card: Paul Verhoeven (2021)

17. Benedetta

All throughout his career, Paul Verhoeven has harbored an obsession with Christian iconography. For years, he's kicked around making a film about Christ as a historical figure. He became such an expert on the subject that he was the only non-scholar member invited to a council on the topic. His films, sometimes blatantly and sometimes more subtly, have explore his thoughts and feelings about Christianity as a religion centered around an act of violence. Ultimately, it was only a matter of time before Verhoeven's fascination with religion resulted in a movie directly dealing with the topic. This desire would finally take shape with “Benedetta,” a modern day nunspoloitation film that Verhoeven would fill with the sex and violence devotees of the director have come to expect. 

Our setting is 17th century Italy, at a small abbey in Tuscany. Benedetta Carlini joins the abbey as a young girl. Even at this youthful age, she's already experiencing intense religious hallucinations, which continue into adulthood. This causes her to rise through the ranks of the abbey. By chance, a young woman named Bartolomea comes to live at the convent. The girl stirs new feelings of lust and love in Benedetta, whose visions are soon accompanied by stigmata. Deemed a miracle by church officials, She is given the role of mother superior. This already controversy decision is compacted by the encroaching plague and the discovery that Benedetta and Bartolomea are lesbian lovers. 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of “Benedetta” is how the title character considers romantic love and religious awe as one and the same. Her visions of Jesus almost always have a romantic, if not sexual, tinge to them. She repeatedly refers to herself as the “bride of Christ.” She takes this very literally, devoted to Christ the way a loving wife would be. At the same time, when she gives into her attraction to Bartolomea, she goes into throes of pleasure that seems identical to the ecclesiastic awe from her visions. Later, when she's put on trial for her sapphic actions, she defends herself by making this exact point: Love is love to her, whether it be love for her God or love for her fellow sister. She expresses the loving message of Christ by loving everyone. The film seems fairly sincere about this, suggesting that religious beliefs are a deeply personal matter.

It's an interesting contrast, which brings with it a certain degree of ambiguity. Does Beneditta actually believe any of her claims? Throughout the film, she has stigmatic episodes. Debate rages over whether these are genuine or if she cuts herself to replicate Christ's wounds. The film eventually provides an answer to that question but still leaves something up to the audience to decide. Is Benedetta another in the long line of Verhoevenian women, whose previous ranks include Katie Tippel, Catherine Tramaine, and Michelle? A women cast in a masculine world who has to be just as ruthless and duplicitous as the men around her to survive? Or is she a true believer, convinced or maybe even unaware of what she does to make her religious visions reality? It's something to chew on, adding a layer of beguiling unclearness to the entire film.

“Benedetta” is not an anti-religion film, which definitely disappointed some viewers. The film seems to agree that the title character should be allowed practice her beliefs however she wants. However, Verhoeven and his team certainly have less ambiguous views on the institution of the church itself. Early on, Benedetta is not admitted to the abbey until her parents promise to contribute a sizable financial donation. Later, Bartolomea is granted entrance when someone agrees to pay for her. The Abbess and the papal ambassador to the abbey spend most of their screen time arguing among themselves and trying to ensure that they maintain their power. It's clear that faith and religious matters is not actually on church officials' minds here. “Benedetta” may portray faith as something deeply personal but it clearly condemns the power structures, hypocrisies, and backstabbing of the church itself. 

It doesn't go unnoticed that the main target of the church's prosecution throughout the film is women. We see multiple examples of women struggling to survive in a world that marginalizes and persecutes them. Bartolomea's past as a victim of sexual abuse is briefly detailed. It's noted that some of the nuns had past lives as prostitutes. And it's certain that the reason the Abbess holds onto the power she has so fiercely is because this one of the few ways a woman, in this time, could have any power at all. The men in the papacy are aghast at the mere idea of lesbianism, some being completely unfamiliar with it. Never mind that the warmth between Benedetta and Bartolomea is preferable to the coldness of the systems, religious and patriarchal, they are both trapped in. Feminist readings of Verhoeven's films are tricky, sometimes, but “Benedetta” is clearly about the constraints put in place long ago to keep women oppressed. 

While Veroheven's modern day work definitely feels classier than his iconic output, “Benedetta” does recall one of his earlier films in a specific way. Much like “Flesh + Blood,” “Benedetta” is set in plague ridden Europe and seems determined to show us how filthy that time was. Within minutes of the movie starting, we see a bird shitting in a man's open eyes. Shortly afterwards, there's a stage show involving a man setting his farts on fire. Later on, a key conversation takes place between Benedetta and Bartolomea while they are using the toilets. It's evident what Verhoeven is doing here. These moments fit right in with the idea that Benedetta's sexual desires and her religious awe are linked. These everyday, lowly acts take place alongside the stately affairs of nuns and elected officials. It's all linked, all part of the same body.

Much like “Flesh + Blood,” “Benedetta” is set in a Europe ravaged by plague. The creeping fear of the infection lurks at the margin of the film's first half. The brief glimpses we get of the city outside the abbey, we see panicked mobs barely clinging to life. Later, the sight of black buboes on people's skin signals that they'll soon become a victim of the plague, spreading it to others. Alongside these grotesque images of disease, Verhoeven throws in some apocalyptic visions of a white comet in a red sky above the abbey. It all adds to capturing a feeling of a world absolutely on the brink of destruction, spinning out of control. This is a mood befitting both 17th century Italy and 2021.

While “Benedetta” may be a seemingly classy costume drama, this is still a Paul Verhoeven movie. The director has never lost his love of sex and violence, of outrageous visuals. This is most obvious during Benedetta's bizarre religious visions. One has Christ, on horse back, swooping in to rescue her by cleaving heads in half, before the figure is revealed as less Christ-like and with more Earthly desires. Later in the film, before deciding to consummate her passions with Bartolomea, she has a vision of Christ on the cross... That concludes with him revealing feminine genitalia. Does this mean Benedetta isn't even aware of the biological differences between men and women? I have no idea but it's nuts. What other director would dare show us forbidden images like these?

Of course, there's the sex scenes too. These are less lurid than the presence of a dildo carved from a statue of Virgin Mary would suggest. Oh, there's plenty of nudity, lots of shots of naked flesh on naked flesh. Yet there's a genuine passion here, a romance around the eroticism of the female form, that separates this from the lurid humping we saw in “Spetters,” “Basic Instinct,” or “Showgirls.” This certainly befits Beneditta's inability to distinguish religious awe from earthly sexual desires. And it must be said, the sex scenes still represent a level of eroticism that has become pretty much totally unseen in mainstream American cinema at this point.

Further supporting the film is a strong cast. Virginie Efira, who previously had a small role as the neighbor's wife in “Elle,” stars as Benedetta. Efira invests Benedetta with the absolute conviction the character needs. While the audience is never certain, even up to the end, if the character has ulterior motives, we never doubt the intensity of her beliefs. Efira can create moments of serenity and religious clarity and also pairs them with fiery outbursts. Daphne Patakia plays Bartolomea as a creature of pure instinct, who does what she feels is right or what feels good. Never has a fart ever been a character establishing moment before. Patakia is very good at summoning up that wild, untamable energy. The two compliment each other nicely. 

The supporting cast is strong too. Charlotte Rampling, whose character is only known as The Abbess, is intimidating. She is steely, hard and unforgiving, in her early scenes. Early on, when haggling about money with Benedetta's parents, it's made apparent that this women is a hard negotiator. Yet, as the film goes on, Rampling is allowed to reveal some humanity under this steely exterior, to confirm that this hardened persona protects a vulnerable person. Lambert Wilson essentially plays the story's villain, the unnamed Nuncio. While it's not the over-the-top performance we've come to expect from Wilson, he still brings a level of venom to the role of a man happy to judge others for his own motivations.

Even at the age of 83 years old, Paul Verhoeven is somehow still pissing the right people off. “Benedetta” would attract small protests from Catholic organizations, who seem to consider the movie blasphemous and an offensive depiction of the Virgin Mary. I guess you can still offend some people in this world. Otherwise, “Benedetta” has been praised by the majority of critics. The film manages to sum up many of the themes and obsessions Verhoeven has carried with him his whole career. It is, simultaneously, more thoughtful and tasteful than you'd expect while never lacking for the outrageous content you would hope for from this director. In other words, Verhoeven and his team hit another one out of the park. “Benedetta” is a fascinating, layered, and hugely entertaining motion picture. [Grade: A]