There be no dragons in this film. Still, that didn't stop me from wishing that a fire-breathing creature would drop in and lop off the heads of every actor in Roland Joffé's overwrought Spanish Civil War epic. Robert Torres (Dougray Scott) is a London-based journalist investigating the life of Opus Dei founder Josemaría Escrivá (Charlie Cox). He reaches out to his estranged father (Wes Bentley) back in Spain, unraveling a series of contrived flashbacks depicting the lifelong relationship between Escrivá and his dad. The fact that the plastic-bag kid from American Beauty dons a revolutionary outfit and an accent that shifts between Spanglish and Super Mario gives you an indication of how overcooked this film is — everything is spelled out, without a trace of nuance. Two lovers stare longingly over the barrels of their guns while bullets whiz by. A window flies open, revealing God's sunbeam. And I feel like throwing up.
122 MINUTES | BOSTON COMMON + SUBURBS
