September 10, 1999
Web posted at: 3:47 p.m. EDT (1947 GMT)

By Reviewer Paul Clinton

(CNN) -- As the title implies, "Stigmata" explores the rare but occasionally reported phenomenon of stigmata -- in Roman Catholic faith, the manifestation on a living person of the wounds Jesus suffered at his crucifixion. Patricia Arquette stars in director Rupert Wainwright's dark thriller, with Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Pryce.

"Stigmata" opens quite dramatically in a small village in Brazil. A beloved local Catholic priest has died and a statue of the Virgin Mary is said to be weeping tears of blood. Byrne plays Father Andrew. He's a scientist as well as a man of God, and he's been sent to the village by the Vatican to verify or debunk the alleged miracle of the crying Mary.

Before he can come to any solid conclusions, Andrew is sent to Pittsburgh to examine a young woman who's inexplicably bleeding from her wrists -- a case, apparently, of stigmata. Arquette plays that woman, Frankie Paige, a spunky, punky hairdresser in her 20s. She's outwardly like thousands of other young women.

No one understands what's happening since Frankie isn't Catholic, and Church doctrine stipulates that stigmata occur only in deeply religious people. Frankie becomes more terrified when doctors assume the wounds on her wrists are self-inflicted.

The wounds multiply. Her forehead bleeds, as from Jesus' crown of thorns. And then her feet gush blood, all but completing the stigmata pattern -- the head, hands and feet of a crucifixion victim. Presumably, Frankie is experiencing a powerful spiritual assault. The final biblical wound, a sword to the ribs, is feared likely to kill her.

But something even darker is in the works. It seems that what's happening to Frankie is somehow connected to the events in Brazil. Eventually, a cardinal from Rome, played by Jonathan Pryce, steps in. Things spin out of control.

Slow and repetitive at times and then terrifying in the next moment, "Stigmata" is uneven at best. Per the popular line from William Cowper's "Table Talk" of 1782, "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform." This film does little to change that impression.

Unfortunately, strong performances from Arquette and Byrne can't save the film. Neither can exceptional production design by Waldemar Kalinowski ("Leaving Las Vegas," 1995) and the excellent cinematography of Jeffrey L. Kimball ("Top Gun," 1986).

Everything in this film drips incessantly: Arquette's runny nose, the thousands of candles always burning in her apartment. (How does a hairdresser working in a cheesy little saloon in Pittsburgh afford all those candles? Ever priced those things? The large ones go for about $40 dollars a pop.) Then, then there's the rain, which never seems to stop and leaks continually into Frankie's apartment -- drip, drip, drip.

The constant dripping is probably some kind of metaphor about the passing of time and the urgency of Frankie's emergency. But metaphor, petit four, it gets really annoying.

Of course, the biggest drip offender is the blood. As you might guess, bloody images play a big role in this movie and they can be spectacular at times. But after a time, this film begins to look like an "all you can eat" vampire buffet.

All the special effects would have been far less effective without a film-developing process called "skip bleaching," which deepens black and whites and mutes most colors, except, maybe, red -- in this case, blood red.

"Stigmata" is an OK thriller. But with more than 150 films opening between now and Christmas, you may want to think of your moviegoing budget. Consider renting "The Exorcist" instead -- Linda Blair and that pea soup will get you every time.

"Stigmata" opens nationwide on Friday. It's rated R and has a running time of 102 minutes.