Mrs. Worthington's Party (2007) Reviews

• Loved it!!

  dswall02007-11-24

  Awesome film!! My wife and I saw it in Florida at the Lauderdale Film Festival. The most amazing story of redemption I've ever seen. It was mysterious and romantic and hilarious. The ending took my breath away. Apparently the writer/director David Wall also played the lead role of Father Jonathan Keene. We thought he was great, my wife thought he looked like a young Robert Redford. Wall's wife in real life played the role of Marjorie Worthington. She was perfect, very classy lady. Apparently their daughter plays the title role of Noelle. What a hauntingly beautiful little girl. This movie will stay with you. Can't wait for it to open as I want to take my parents and our kids. I imagine there may be some controversy among religious folks over this one as Wall plays a Catholic priest but I applaud him for his courage in portraying a priest as a real human being, as a man grappling with his faith. We think this one will be a classic.

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• Independent Film-making at it's Finest

  FilmFestCritic2007-11-24

  I was fortunate enough to screen "Noelle", then Mrs. Worthington's Pary, at the "Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival". I was not sure what to expect from a movie written, directed and starring the same person. The first thing I noticed was the enormous amount of people that were coming into the screening. There must have been almost 600 people for the showing. From the start the Cinematography was purely outstanding. The film was shot on 35mm and was absolutely beautiful. The scenery was breathtaking, the music magical and mysterious, a true testament to great Independent Film making. The acting also greatly surprised me as the movie was comprised of all unknown actors. The performances were very strong all the way down to the beautiful ghostly child. The movie uses Priests as the main Characters and thoughtfully takes you through a true to life journey of problems and circumstances that any everyday man or woman could relate too. The wonderful writing and story gently and magically carry you through the movie like a journey back in time to the great Holiday Classics long gone. I found myself deeply involved in every Character and every aspect of the story, a credit to David Wall's writing and directing. I do not wish to give away any of the story, as that would be tasteless. I can tell you that if you are looking for a true Holiday movie, with a wonder inspiring story that is destined in my opinion to become a Holiday Classic, then you owe it to yourself to see this movie. As the movie was ending, I looked over to my right to notice a man in his sixties gently wiping away tears from his eyes, just as I had done. The lights went up and to my surprise everyone was still there. As the music stopped, all 600 people stood almost in unison for a standing ovation. I had already been to six screenings with barely a round of applause at the ending of each. It seemed as if every single person got it and felt the same thing. This was a great movie. Last I could not help watching as a Catholic Priest made his way to David Wall in the lobby outside the theater. I was curious what he thought of the movie since the movie revolved around Priests. As I stood near, the Priest walked right up to him, grabbed his hand and arm, and said thank you with glossy eyes. I was amazed. Even the Priest loved the movie. The movie went on to win "Best Director" and a nod for "Best American Indie". There are many things you could say about this movie, "Wonderful" is all that comes to mind.

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• Exactly what a Christmas Movie Should Be!

  Buck_Vinegar2007-11-24

  I generally tend to resist Christmas movies and did not exactly leap at the opportunity to spend another hour and a half simmering in Hollywood-fabricated pseudo-cheer. However, I was pleasantly surprised right from the outset by many of the striking images and east-coast winter locations. As the film developed I found myself genuinely interested in the story and when it was all over, I was shocked to find that not only had I enjoyed a "Christmas movie", but would certainly watch it again if given the chance, even if it wasn't Christmas time. While some overly "zealous" types may be offended by the use of a priest as one of the main characters, I felt the entire story came across tastefully while still maintaining enough of an edge to make for an interesting story. As for the rest of the characters, they come off as a combination of well acted professional productions coupled with charming "man-on-the-street" types for the supporting roles. Compared to the amount of high-dollar "all-flash, no-substance" productions being cranked out of late, I found what was simply an interesting story about interesting characters to be genuinely refreshing.

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• A Mixed Bag ...

  cdelacroix12007-12-07

  I just saw this movie today after it opened here in two multiplexes, one of which only rarely carries independent films. It's really a remarkable movie in so many ways, but as can happen especially with independent films, occasionally, it raises for me two ethical dilemmas. First, it's misleadingly advertised as a traditional Christmas movie, but won't be found to be such by most viewers; and second, it includes a strong dose of anti-Catholicism. But setting aside these two unpleasant features of this film, I found so much of this movie really very appealing. The storyline and the supporting script, anti-Catholicism aside, are really very interesting and so often moving. The characters in this movie are developed vividly and engagingly. We meet Father Jonathan Keene, who at first has the heart and social skills of a cash register, but we rejoice as we watch him developing into a human almost despite himself. We meet Father Simeon Joyce, full of love for his parishioners, though seemingly doomed to alcoholic ineffectiveness. The story really revolves around relationships more than anything else, and some of the relational scenes were to me simply delightful to behold. One of my favorite scenes like this has Father Keene and the bartender engaged in a dialog that is just full of wit and poignancy. I really think this scene, and the delightful scene at Mrs Worthington's party, will stay with me for a long, long time. The acting is almost uniformly very good, even though the actors and actresses apparently have had very little film experience. There is one exception: I thought Sean Patrick Brennan's performance as Father Joyce was wooden and monotonous. In contrast, David Wall gives a wonderful, wonderful performance as Father Keene. The cinematography is excellent. Again and again we are treated to the most lovely vistas shot (I think?) in wintry Massachusetts. What beautiful settings for a beautiful story. Well … the story is partly beautiful. But that brings me to the movie's ugly side: its anti-Catholicism. I won't say anything more about the other ethical problem with this movie, its marketing as a traditional Christmas story when it clearly isn't. The misleading marketing isn't really part of the movie as such after all. But about the anti-Catholicism so prominent in the movie. The story could well have been told with a much less denominational context, but the movie singles out one particular religion for representations that could have come out of any number of anti-Catholic tracts known for their bigotry. The director/writer/producer, David Wall, is reported to be prejudiced against Catholics. This certainly comes through in his movie, in which he depicts Catholicism from a point of view that could be termed liberal, post-Christian, and anti-Catholic. The Catholic archdiocese is painted as greedy and interested solely in money … a superfluous characterization that apparently has nothing to do with the story. We are treated to a Catholic priest who is an alcoholic who asserts no interest in priestly abstinence from sex. The same priest disdains Midnight Mass, a distinctively Catholic religious service of special affection to most Catholics. The priest is depicted along with a congregation that has lost interest in a Midnight Mass either. The other Catholic priest walks out, twice, on a Mass, a religious service considered important to Catholics in general. He also walks out on a poor woman's Confession; and breaks the Seal of the Confessional, betraying to others what he has heard in confidence in the Confessional. And by the end of the movie our priest has formed a romantic attachment and we are given to understand that he's become a nice, normal married man that has left that nasty old Catholicism behind. As one feature of Catholicism after another is trampled underfoot, the movie apparently expects us all to applaud. If you're wondering what this has to do with the wonderfully humane storyline as such, I wonder as well. One of the dilemmas of a moviegoer confronted with what is actually plain bigotry, mixed with so much beauty and so much humanity, is to know how to respond. I don't know the answer. I'm guessing that the same dilemma would have confronted a moviegoer in South Africa a few decades ago, who might have been watching a movie full of good things yet jarringly pro-Apartheid. Or perhaps a moviegoer in Nazi Germany might have found himself or herself watching a movie full of much beauty and humanity on the one hand, while coupled painfully with implicit or explicit celebrations of Nazism. Can one applaud the beauty and humanism in such a movie while denouncing the ugly prejudice that's also there? I'm not sure … but I hope so. Each of us I'm sure must make our own decisions about how to approach such material, if we approach it at all.

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• A gem of a movie

  socki-32007-11-26

  Noelle is indeed a gem of a movie. The audience will be pleasantly surprised when they see this delightful film. Writer, director, and lead actor, David Wall does a great job of bringing you into the lives of a small fishing community. We get to know the characters in a way that is very, ' Frank Capra' like. The supporting cast is excellent. The photography is beautiful. The director opens our eyes to the soul of man and at the same time gives us a great look at ourselves. This movie is, and will continue to be, a movie that we will desire to view time and again. I look forward to seeing more from Mr. Wall and Volo films.

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