MOVIE REVIEW : Burton’s ‘Lost Masterpiece’ Hobbled by Script

To see--especially to hear--Richard Burton once again on the screen more than three years after his death is at once stirring and sad. Stirring because Burton’s rich, familiar voice really was remarkable. Sad not only because Burton’s gone, but because “Absolution” (selected theaters) is far from the “lost masterpiece” promised in promotional materials.

Burton made the most of his voice in this 1978 production, which is handsome but hopelessly contrived. (Reportedly, the film has been held up due to legal entanglements.)

A project that Burton is said to have wanted to do for years, “Absolution” is a literate but overly theatrical parable of good and evil in the form of a thriller and set in a large, austere English Catholic school for boys. Burton is Father Goddard, a strict priest inevitably nicknamed “God” behind his back.

If ever there was a formidable man it would seem to be Father Goddard. Yet he does not reckon with the “bad seed” in his midst, the handsome, self-possessed Benji (Dominic Guard), who is prepared to test the sanctity of the confessional to the limit--and who has charmed the priest to a degree that you’d hardly believe to be possible. (You can’t actually say that the priest is sexually attracted to the teen-ager, yet you sense that he has some very strong feelings for him.)

Burton is surely bravura, but not all his well-reined power nor all of director Anthony Page’s skill can keep Anthony Shaffer’s script from seeming dank, rather than tragic. Throughout, there’s a feeling that there’s nothing personal in Shaffer’s view of Catholic rigidity--that finally he’s more interested in its potential for setting up shocks rather than as a source of genuine tragedy. The recent “Rosary Murders,” although actually gorier--and which also turned upon the sanctity of the confessional--did manage to blend murder mystery and a sense of uniquely Catholic tragedy quite effectively.

“Absolution” (rated R for considerable violence) is therefore morbid rather than moving. You’re better off remembering Burton for some of his other pictures--including the chilling remake of “1984,” which is his actual final theatrical film rather than this turgid disappointment.

‘ABSOLUTION’

A Trans World Entertainment release. Executive producers George Pappas, Alan Cluer. Producers Elliott Kastner, Danny O’Donovan. Director Anthony Page. Screenplay Anthony Shaffer. Camera John Coquillon. Smith. Music Billy Connolly. Production designer Natasha Kroll. Costumes Anne Gainsford. Film editor John Victor Smith. With Richard Burton, Dominic Guard, Dai Bradley, Billy Connolly, Andrew Keir.

Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes.

MPAA-rated: R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian).