What a waste of a reasonable idea. A tale of a priest, Fr Michael (Kenneth Branagh, uncomfortable for the wrong reasons) and his crisis of faith and religious doctrine is turned unsubtly into a scarcely believable story that includes soap-opera romances right, left and centre - plus sundry skeletons in cupboards. In Fr Michael's Boston 1930s parish, a wealthy couple, Eleanor and Arthur (Madeleine Stowe and William Hurt), are unable to have children and do not wish to adopt. Their plan is to have Eleanor impregnated by a stranger, paid for his services. But, after repeated 'sessions', he falls for her. A murder and a miscarriage follow - and another man has a crush on the broody femme fatale. Can we take any more contrivances? If you like your melodrama convoluted and don't care if it's a bit daft, this off-the-mark film will satisfy, with Hurt and Stowe trying their best to make events seem credible.

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