Padre Pio

The sins and injustices of the outside world find terrible expression in St Pio of Pietrelcina’s body and imperfect expression in Ferrara’s 22nd feature.

Any authenticity is skewered by the decision to shoot in Italian-accented English, meaning that much of the dialogue sounds as hammy as a leg of prosciutto.

Padre Pio is an unholy mess.

Ferrara uses the absence of light as a presage of fear and terror [...]. This is how Padre Pio effectively plays with the audience as well; when a scene gets darker, it gradually escalates into something strange, sinister even.