Plot: What’s it about?
Father Frank Shore (Ed Harris) has a rather interesting profession, one of the more unusual and intriguing jobs to be found within the Catholic church. You see, Shore has been appointed by the church to serve as a spiritual detective of sorts, with his main mission being to investigate events claimed to be miracles. While some of these events turn out to be miracles, most of them are hoaxes or coincidences. After years working this route, Shore finds himself in a crisis of faith after an incident which left him branded The Miracle Killer. As he searches for truth and even himself on the streets, he is asked by the church to return to the field and investigate the death of a woman who is being considered for sainthood. This woman was a devout believer, and it is thought that her death is responsible for a nearby statue’s tears of blood. As he looks into the matter, Shore meets the woman’s daughter (Anne Heche), who is a non believer who feels her mother has abandon her. While the case continues to unfold, Shore finds himself pulled between the investigation, his feelings for the daughter, and his duties to the church. Perhaps in the time of his greatest doubt, Shore can reclaim his faith in something, but what will that something be?
I’ll have to say that this film had me sucked in from the start, as I was intrigued by the storyline, as well as the cast and crew involved. So I was looking forward to reviewing the disc, and I am pleased to say all my expectations were either met or exceeded in this case. While you might think this movie tries to stuff a message about faith down your throat, once you’ve seen the film, you’ll know that’s not the case. While this film does deal with faith, it seems to cover a broad sense of the word and not just its connections to religion, even though religion is the basis used. While the film sometimes rolls a little too slow at times, it usually has a nice pace, so even short attention span readers should be able to handle this one. This is a very visually impressive film as well, with terrific and atmospheric locations and camera movement/placement. As good as this movie is, it still isn’t worthy of cinematic sainthood, since it has more than a fair share of problems, including a somewhat rushed romantic edge to the storyline. So it’s not perfect, but it is still good enough to warrant a recommendation to fans of dramas and romantic type flicks. This is another fine disc from Columbia, so whether you buy or rent your money will be well spend on this release.
This film was directed by Agnieszka Holland, who seems to have a knack for creating movies with excellent characters and stunning, yet lower key visuals. While Holland has helmed many wonderful films, I feel this is her finest movie to date, certainly the one with the richest characters and visuals. If you like this movie and decide to watch more of Holland’s work, I suggest Total Eclipse, To Kill A Priest, and The Secret Garden. This film features a trio of leading roles, with Ed Harris finding himself to be the main focus of the fuss. Harris (Apollo 13, The Abyss) does very well with the bulk of the acting load on his shoulders, and carries the film without any serious troubles. I was expecting Harris to be a little too stiff to pull this role off, but he won me over quite quickly. Anne Heche (Six Days, Seven Nights) and Armin Mueller-Stahl (The Game) also have plenty of screen time, although Heche has trouble keeping up, no matter who she shares the screen with. The supporting cast also includes Charles Haid (Altered States), Barbara Sukowa (Cradle Will Rock), and Michael Rispoli (Summer of Sam, Volcano).
Video: How does it look?
The Third Miracle is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame version also included on this dual layered disc. As we have come to expect from Columbia, this visual presentation is top of the line, with excellent compression quality and a near pristine source print. This film features some gorgeous colors, and every hue looks vibrant and rich with this transfer, even flesh tones are natural and consistent. In that same vein, I found no errors with the contrast either, shadows appear deep and complex and detail level is high and correct. There are some small problems that creep into the image, but for the most part this is a terrific looking transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
This release uses a 2.0 surround track, which seems to be enough to handle the movie’s audio demands. The surrounds are used mostly for subtle audio, but during the flashback scenes they flex their muscle as needed. The music has a lush feel to it, and the atmosphere is nice for this film, the surrounds are used very well. The dialogue never drowns though, and each word can be heard loud and clear at all times.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release contains some talent files, the film’s theatrical trailer, and a wonderful isolated musical score, which should delight fans of the movie. This disc also includes an audio commentary with Holland, who seems to have enough stories for ten commentaries. While she sometimes wanders off topic, she is usually on the mark and sharing some great information about the film. If you enjoy this film, or Holland’s work in general you’ll want to give this commentary a spin.
