The Rosary Murders

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by priest-turned-author William X. Kienzle. It was the first of 24 books written by Kienzle, and the only one adapted to the screen, and it's easy to see why. The screenplay by Elmore Leonard used almost none of the material from the book, turning what could've been a really nice police procedural with a religious bent into a morality play that didn't even surface until well into the final third of the book. Donald Sutherland played the lead role like he was in a trance, while Charles Durning's performance as Father Nabors -- the next-to-last intended victim of the killer -- did little better. Easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Donald Sutherland is a Detroit priest who hears the confession of a serial killer with a grudge against the clergy, and is later forced by the ethics of his vocation to (reluctantly) hunt down the murderer himself, unearthing a spine-chilling string of motivation behind each new death. It could have been just another routine shocker, but a clever script and some unusually taciturn direction turns the otherwise familiar material into a modest but intriguing whodunit (actually more a 'whydunit') set against the rituals and mysteries of the Catholic Church, always a reliable source of guilt and intrigue. The steady accumulation of clues and evidence is interrupted only by an unsurprising (and unnecessary) romantic subplot, which happily compromises neither the mystery itself nor Sutherland's oath of celibacy.

The author has relied heavily upon the literary device of COINCIDENCE in constructing his plot; i.e., he expects you to believe that several people living in the same part of the country would have certain proper names. I'd love to explain that in detail, but doing so would ruin part of the ending. Rent this movie and see if you agree. But this flaw will not diminish your enjoyment of the film, as there is enough action to keep the murder mystery fan happy. I was never bored during any of the times I watched this film. I recommend this any day of the week.

Donald Sutherland is good, but he can't make this film worth seeing all by himself. The director doesn't seem to have the temperament that's needed for a successful thriller, the plot moves slowly and monotonously, and the whole thing just plods on to an ending that fails to explain the killer's motivation satisfyingly. (*1/2)