A tormented and vengeful God dishes out his usual sadomasocism. I usually stay well away from religiously biased films. In this case the film title, The Seminarian, piqued my curiosity as I thought it may either be a unwatchable, cliché ridden, full-on, sex and insensibility, gay scene romp or a philosophical exploration of religious hypocrisy and the oppression it creates for humanity. Thankfully, this film dishes up few of those socio-sexual clichés.
The script is intelligently written, with good, if not great, accompanying cinematography. As the subject matter is of a personal, inner nature, no Lean or Powell majesty was required. The claustrophobic atmosphere of a Seminary was suited to the predominantly fixed angle shots.
The only weakness of The Seminarian was the actors (especially Ryan, the protagonist). His gentle, considerate and emasculated, though, not effeminate, personality would have been better cast by using a less gay mannered man. Ryan's best male friend, also a seminarist, seemed to have not a clue about his sexuality even though his best friends' girlfriend/fiancée appears to have suspected...all along.
I thought Bradley, the focus of Ryan's seemingly wasted affections, was a great character; deeply damaged, Bradley is cruising through a pot-holed life perpetually in the wrong gear and selecting anguish, self-pity, evasiveness, neediness and self-avoiding nymphomania for fuel. Though viewers only get to see him for several seconds throughout the entire film, his actions (don't blink, you'll miss them) are crucial to The Seminarian's thesis.
The cast of seminarist's, armed only with their own delusional focus of belief, has certain of them playing right into the hand of another of their God's vile and cheap tricks. The result being natural humanism conflated with a perverse supernatural Abrahamism.
I gave it 8/10 purely because the protagonist is so well endowed... No I didn't, silly! Score is because I thought it was a unique and intelligent take on self-oppression coupled with religious dogma.
P.S. Nose aside, I hazard Ryan's not a grower, more a shower.