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Review

One would expect a television movie on the pedophile priest scandal to be moderate and possibly even pro-Church. But not Showtime's hard-edged drama starring Ted Danson, Christopher Plummer, Daniel Baldwin and Brian Dennehy. Director Dan Curtis and writer Thomas Michael Donnelly pull no punches in telling a story that has rocked the Catholic Church to its core in the past few years.

The story is set in Boston as Father Geoghan is sent from parish to parish as he accused of sexually abusing young boys. Instead of being removed from the priesthood, this priest's actions are covered up by the church and specifically by Cardinal Bernard Law. Years later many scared men led by Angelo DeFranco decide to go public with their stories. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian gathers up all the claimants and takes on the Church. As the evidence builds more and more priests are accused of abuse and more and more victims come forward. The church officially blames gay men and has sought to cleanse the American church of homosexuals. They have made the common error of assuming that gay men are pedophiles, something this writer knows to be false. Our Fathers tackles this issue with tact and intelligence.

Expect first-rate acting from the entire cast with kudos for Brian Dennehey and Ted Danson. The writing and direction are letter-perfect. The film illustrates in simple terms just how deep the problems are in the Catholic Church, don't miss it.

 -- Scott Cranin