2024 is the year of A24 Films. They’ve had 1-2 releases almost every month this year, and HERETIC joins the list of incredibly well-done films that are sure to end up on some of the best of lists at the end of the year.
First, I will tell you what I didn’t like about HERETIC. As much as I enjoyed it, it’s not a perfect film, yet it comes very close. There’s a break in the momentum as the story reaches its final act. It’s a minor but noticeable turn. I understand why the writers/directors, Scott Beck and Brian Woods, made a particular choice even though, for me, it wasn’t important to the overall story. The good news is that it quickly recovers and ends on a strong note, so I can still enthusiastically recommend it.
Hugh Grant absolutely owns this role in a way I don’t think I’ve ever experienced with him before. Playing a man named Mr. Reed, he’s charming, inviting, intelligent, sharp, clever, terrifying, meticulous, ominous. Grant perfectly captures each of these, delivering every line in the film, so naturally, you may forget he’s acting out a script. Young actresses Sophie Thatcher (YELLOWJACKETS, THE BOOK OF BOBA FET), and Chloe East (THE FABELMANS), are also perfectly cast as Reed’s nemeses. They play Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, two missionaries from The Church of Latter-Day Saints who knock on Mr. Reed’s door one late afternoon, hoping to convert him.
The filmmakers portray the interaction between Mr. Reed and the missionaries in a way that provokes both innocent curiosity and extreme distress. I’ve seen other films portray devoutly religious people as simple-minded. So true to their dogma that they’re unable to question any of it. But Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton are a perfect missionary duo, balancing out each other’s beliefs and intelligence. Mr. Reed has seen and heard it all before, but now he’s met two people who can challenge why he’s become the way he is, too. I myself am agnostic, and I can see that some viewers of HERETIC will walk away feeling this is a very pro-atheist/pro-agnostic film. Big questions are raised in HERETIC, but not all are answered. Much like faith – either one’s belief in a higher deity or one’s belief that nothing such exists. HERETIC’s biggest critique is toward organizations – organized religions or extremists who cause harm in the name of their belief system. This is something that feels very relevant less than a week after my country elected a 34x convicted felon with support from millions of people who claim to put their “God” first.
HERETIC is now playing exclusively in theatres.
