The Devils

I never sought out Ken Russell's films specifically, though maybe I should comb through his oeuvre in search of more interesting titles. Not that I'm his biggest fan, but at least his films are something unique and memorable. The Devils is a bit long and can get a tad wordy, but that's not all it is.

A priest in 17th century France is living the good life. His progressive political and religious ideas are making him many enemies though, and soon he has to fear for his life. When they find out what he's doing with a convent of nuns, they see the time fit to out the priest and get rid of their rival.

The cinematography is interesting, the scenes of madness and debauchery don't miss their target and the finale is pretty animated. I didn't really care for the performances and in between the livelier scenes the film does slow down just a tad too much, but this was quite a bit better than expected. That said, my expectations were pretty low.