THE MISSIONARY

UK, 1982, 90 minutes, Colour.
Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliot, Trevor Howard, Michael Hordern, Roland Culver, Phoebe Nichols, Timothy Spall, Graham Crowden.
Directed by Richard Loncraine.

The Missionary is an attractive and gentle satire written and produced by Michael Palin and starring him as the good-natured Reverend Charles Fortescue. He has an excellent supporting cast including Maggie Smith, Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott and Michael Hordern.

Palin brings his skill as one of the Python actors and writers to this film. However, the touch is much more gentle, especially in its criticism of Christianity, the Church of England, the status of the clergy, morality and the British Empire. The characters are gently drawn even though at times they are gentle caricatures. The strength of the film is in its beautiful colour photography and direction by Richard Loncraine, the director of many of Dennis Potter's films and television plays.

The film was not immediately popular because of expectations by audiences on Michael Palin for a zany kind of humour. However, the film is entertaining and acceptable gentle satire.

1. The traditions of British comedy? Broad humour, satirical humour? Michael Palin's work and his drawing on the traditions of British satire? Modes, tone, style? The emphasis on gentleness and subtlety? The farcical elements within this context? A quality comedy?

2. The beauty of the colour photography? Panavision and the use of initial African locations, country settings, Scottish mountains and hillsides, London and its slums? The use of models from English painting? The early 20th.century? Interiors and exteriors? Wealth and squalor? Background of religion? Period costumes and decor? The contribution of the songs, hymns? The musical score? The atmosphere of visual beauty giving a tone to the film?

3. Michael Palin's skill as writer and actor? His humour, the gentle touch? The background of Python outrageous comedy and irony? The film as a star vehicle for himself? His ability to draw the character of the minister, pathos and sympathy? His targets of religion, empire? The innocent abroad and experience still preserving innocence? Visual humour, verbal humour, situation comedy?

4. The expectations from the title? Religious presuppositions? 19th century Church of England, mission work in Africa, the dedication to missionary work? Its being out of date? the humour of the irrelevance of the discussions of Magna Carta, sport and empire in Africa? The status of the Church of England? Ambitions, ministries, rectories? The presentation of the bishop? Protestant tone? Ecumenical? The importance of social work ? the ministry to prostitutes and the repercussions on church doctrine and morality? The question of the place of the church and its doing good? Confronting immorality and demanding "stop it"? The positives and negatives about religion? The hypocrisy - especially about the prostitutes? The decision of the missionary to move out from official religious work, his seeing that it did not meet people's real needs? A conclusion that the work of the church was sincere but irrelevant? The strengths of the plot: the ordinary story of a minister and his career, his hopes?

5. The subplots and the criticism of British society? Moral and social reform? The hopes and plans of the minister, his own marital tangles, his seduction? His manner of coping? Crisis with Lady Ames? Honour and decency? His withdrawal from the ministry and changing his future? The film's comment at the end about his dedication to Britain, the war and his patriotism? In comparison with his missionary work? The importance of the voiceover and the judgment about Charles Fortescue’s life? The initial sequence and the elimination of the name on the desk? The final credits with the collage of pictures showing Charles' life and the comment of his son?

6. The film's presuppositions about the clergy and their status? Past attitudes and respect? The 1980s? Standards, crises, loss of vocations to clergy? The comment on religion, the church and the role of clergy? The good work of the church: the bishop and his administration? Yet his being locked in manner, his interest in sport, his offhand attitude to Charles and his work? The seriousness of ministry to the oppressed? Worries? What the church actually achieves?

7. The parson and his daughter? Charles' sincerity, mission? Christianity and Protestantism? The effect? The help and the change? The human face of religion? Charles as Christlike and his Care? With Lady Arnes, with his fiancee, with the girls? The dilemma for the clergyman looking after the prostitutes? Understanding their way of life? Meeting them at their own level? The humour of the use of sexuality for conversions and understanding? The effect on Charles? On the girls? His ultimately saving Lady Ames?

8. Charles coping with England: with Lord Ames, with the Bishop, the visit to the bar, the money, the delay in his marriage? His work at the homes? The two girls? The visit of the Bishop? His visit to Scotland? His doing good and leaving? The credits giving the answers to what happened to Charles?

9. Lady Ames and her being seen on the ship, the street, the statue, the proposition, the visit, the meal and the argument? The butler and his waywardness? Lady Ames' jealousy and the visit? The poison? Scotland? The tower? The bullet and the ending? Lady Ames and her lack of love for her husband? Infatuation with Charles? The melodramatic violence? The happy ending ? and salvation?

10. Deborah and Charles' meeting with her, the wrong cues, her letters and the filing system, her impersonal approach, the raising of the money, the preparation for the marriage, her attitudes towards sexuality, the experience of being jilted? The phallic symbols and the ending?

11. Her father and his ministry, the Ames? The household?

12. Denholm Elliott's style as the Bishop? The pomposity of the Church of England hierarchy? His being a good sport? His personal interests and eccentricities? His decisions about Charles? The visit to the home? The decisions to be made about Charles' future? A sympathetic unsympathetic picture of a Bishop?

13. The satire in the presentation of Lord Ames: horseman, cartoon, his letters to the Editor and his vicious attitudes, capital punishment, spelling, sense of privilege? Cruelty? Sexuality? Hunting and drinking? Trevor Howard and his satire with Lord Ames? The final irony in his relationship with the butler?

14. Slatterthwaite and his long service with the Ames family. his searching for doors, for rooms, the meal, his being locked out, wandering to the wrong room, the irony of the ending with his going to Lord Ames' bedroom? Michael Hordern's skill in presenting a daffy caricature with point?

15. The prostitutes? conventional presentation, conventional responses? The mission and the attitude of the Church? Their business, quick relationships, standards? Their attitude towards Charles? His help and changing their life?

16. The contrast with the way of life in London with wealth, privilege and Scottish hunts? The attitude of the people gathered for the hunt? The cruelty of the hunt?

17. Verbal and visual humour, satire, miscues etc., farce and timing, the delight in the gentle humour? (And the echoes and parodies of Chariots of Fire?)

18. The final photos of the Fortescues and Charles moving into the mainstream of English life and contributing? His inability to contribute via religion?

19. How accurate was the film in its satire and in its targets? Its attitudes towards religion? Its attitude towards England?