Devout Catholics and Popular Movies

As a devout Catholic, it can be difficult (some might say impossible) to be able to enjoy in good conscience popular movies, TV and music.  We have deliberately chosen not to have a television in our home for this exact reason.  It’s nearly impossible to stop harmful influences from coming into the home from the TV and for this reason, it’s more of an invader than an entertainer.  I think you only need to have BRAVO, We TV, or FX on for about 15 minutes to realize this.

Over the past couple months though, I’ve come across three movies that are outstanding in their own right but also won’t put your mind and soul into a place you don’t want them to go.  All three are totally void of vile language and weird sex stuff but none-the-less retain their status as outstanding movies.  Amazing isn’t it?

1.     Moneyball, staring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman, chronicles the story of Billy Beane, the A’s General Manager during the team’s fated run to the playoffs in 2002.  If you are a baseball fan, you will enjoy this movie.  If you play fantasy baseball, you will LOVE this movie.  More than being a movie about baseball, this movie is more about what happens when you take a risk and the psychological turmoil and thrill that come along with it.

The term “moneyball” refers to the process by which small market teams (baseball teams with low payrolls) compete with big market teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs… White Sox?).  Small market teams use statistics (regression mostly) to comprise their teams rather than conventional wisdom or scouting.  A team can be chosen entirely by algorithms and regression equations.  When Billy Beane implemented this plan for the A’s, he encountered a great deal of conflict and opposition but also achieved some success too…

Brad Pitt plays the role of the GM well and Jonah Hill plays his portly assistant, a Yale grad with statistical expertise, brilliantly.

I highly recommend it but I do not recommend that players in my fantasy league try to use Beane’s methods in our fantasy league, least they be trounced by my superior baseball statistics skills!

2.     True Grit, a Coen Brothers remake of the 1969 John Wayne film, chronicles the man hunt for murderer Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) by Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a Texas Ranger name LeBeouf (pronounced Le -Beef and played by Matt Damon) and 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld).  Mattie isn’t afraid to speak her mind and serves as the instigator and driving force behind the search.  Mattie’s father was killed by Tom Chaney and she organizes the pursuit to get justice for her father … because no one else will.

Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon play their characters brilliantly.  Bridges plays Rooster Cogburn, a rough and often drunk marshal who isn’t afraid to use his 6 shooters.  His common interactions and thoughts are somewhat muddled and rough around the edges but his moral compass seems a bit more clear despite his frequent use of his guns.  Though, Cogburn is also quick to point out that he only draws down when he needs to defend himself.  Damon plays LeBoef, a sweet talking Texas Ranger.  He is proud to be a Ranger and lets everyone know it.  His grandiose and pompousness endear him to the viewer after a while though this process takes a little while.  Watching he and Rooster try to one up each other is hilarious.

3.  The King’s Speech takes place circa World War 2 and depicts the friendship between George VI (Colin Firth), or Bertie to his friends and family, and Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), his speech therapist.  Bertie had  a speech stammer since he was 5 years old.  As he begins to rise in power in the royal family, the necessity to make public speeches causes a great deal of stress and anguish.  So, Bertie and his wife enlist the help of Lionel Logue to treat his speech empediment.

The underlying storyline here is the great friendship that develops between Bertie and Lionel.  The prince had led a sheltered royal life an never had a friend throughout his childhood.  He also had experienced a few psychological traumas throughout his childhood without having the luxury of a friendly ear to share them with.

The acting in this film is superb, as is the dialogue and character development.  This is a true story of friendship.  Friendships are often wrought in struggle and in mutually experienced pain.  But, this film does not let us forget the great joys in friendship and the help and glory we can receive when we dare to be a friend.

These are 3 examples of movies that are enjoyable, moving and morally acceptable for a Catholic.  So, I suppose my position on movies can be summarized as such:  Not every modern movie is intrinsically horrid and soul corrupting… though finding movies that are both artistically good and morally good can be a challenging task indeed.