'Pilgrimage' Review: Bernthal and Holland are sensational!

8.3/10

Pilgrimage” is about; a remote monastery, which is filled with penitent men and boy apprentices who labor on the land and guard a holy relic from Vikings, Normans and other infidels in the 13th century.

Then a papal envoy arrives — “The Cistercian” (Paris-born actor Stanley Weber). “The Grey Foreigner” is arrogant and high-handed. Rome needs the relic. There’s a Crusade coming, and relics are good for recruiting. And he’s taking it. “Rome has spoken…there is no debate.” But just getting it out of Ireland will be a pilgrimage itself. “Infidels surround us…heretics.” He’s not just talking about Irish pagans either.

So a small entourage is assigned to convoy the holy object, including the herbal healer Brother Ciaran (John Lynch), a brooding mute (Jon Bernthal) and a novice monk, Brother Diarmuid, played by Tom Holland (the new Spider-Man). On their journey they will face superstitions, clan infighting and savage treachery and each will be severely tested. As “No one but the pure of heart can touch the relic and live,” you see where the boy Diarmuid comes in.

A Norman knight (Raymond Armitage) may help or hinder their quest. There are runes to be understood, a haunted forest to traverse and a great deal of blood will be spilled.

I really appreciated the obscure Gaelic the Irish monks speak (in early scenes), the grim, grimy and short lives depicted and the way Jamie Hannigan’s script lets us see ways that superstitions held long ago can be explained through natural phenomena that we understand this very day.

Faith, of course, is another matter. If you believe a holy relic has great power, you may have your reasons.

Weber is perfectly oily as Brother Geraldus, the Cistercian,  who has all sorts of beliefs in order to get the relic home.

Holland is earnest enough as young Diarmuid, a boy who grows into himself as he grasps this mission. But it is Bernthal, playing a man who no longer speaks but who surely must have awful secrets he’s keeping, who captures us. The “Baby Driver,” star has a formidable screen presence, a menace we can sense even when he's frozen to one spot.

It's not the best middle age movie there Is, but this simple quest recreates an era when Christians believed as Islamic terrorists believe today - that salvation and eternal life comes from blood sacrifice. Bernthal's resolute, fearsome and touching performance make this "Pilgrimage" well worth the journey.

All in all it was a great film, I thoroughly loved it. Great cast, even better acting, perfectly done gore scenes, plot was thick, cinematography and visuals were on point, the dialogue was great for those who spoke. Then there is the man (Jon Bernthal) who only spoke one word threw the hole film "hell," and he absoluetely killed it. The raw emotion, pain and anger you could feel from just his presence alone is staggering. Well worth the watch.