![[box cover]](../reviewimgs/s/stigmata.jpg)
Stigmata
The Stigmata is a psychogenetic condition or a bonafide miraculous event, depending on who you are talking to. However, top Catholic miracle investigator Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) knows that few are ever able to survive. For Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette), an average Pittsburgh socialite with no religious affiliations, the truth of the Stigmata is about to become painfully real as, through a simple chain of coincidences, she finds herself in the possession of a dead priest's rosary. The gift, from her mother, brings not just Stigmata, but a revelation that could change the world, and a power struggle that will shake the very foundation of the Catholicism. Cardinal Houseman (Jonathan Pryce), a high-ranking Vatican official, sends Kiernan to investigate Frankie's stigmata with intentions of debunking the incident, but the events that unfold before him eventually drive him to unthinkable, desperate measures. Relying on several verified cases of Stigmata and inspired by the recent discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, Stigmata is an effective amalgam dramatic imagery and attention-grabbing music (composed by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins). Fans of the Exorcist and its successors will appreciate the unsettling scene of the possessed Frankie scrawling ancient words on her apartment, in addition to a raging, otherworldly fire that Kiernan must walk through to save her before it's too late, but while comparisons to The Exorcist will abound, Stigmata is a thought provoking, original thriller that stays with you long after the movie is over. Directed by Rupert Wainwright (The Sadness of Sex), produced by Frank Mancuso Jr. (Species, Species II). Widescreen or pan-and-scan, DD 5.1, commentary by director Wainwright, alternate ending, deleted scenes, music video by Natalie Imbruglia. Entertaining menu design, keep case.
