Ken Russell’s shrieking, unhinged historical drama, based on Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudun, is a wild mix of torture horror, sexual perversion, and religious and political malfeasance. Set in 17th-century France, it's a nightmarish telling of the true story of Urbain Grandier, a priest accused of witchcraft by a group of nuns in the town of Loudun. With its unforgettable visual style, untethered depictions of religious hypocrisy, political corruption, and ax-blunt commentary on power and repression, The Devils challenges its audience in ways few films ever have.
Oliver Reed, an under-rated, nearly forgotten limey actor, not as great as Richard Burton, but certainly better than or equal to Olivier, Caine, Finney, O'Toole, et al. delivers a masterpiece preening performance as the vain, arrogant, horny Father Grandier, a charismatic priest who tries to save his city's independence from the growing central authority of France's King Louis XIII, who appears just as stupid, bored, cruel, and a little bit more trans than our Donald Trump. Louis, who is more devoted to *sport* (a decidedly peculiar form of hunting) than actually ruling (think Trump and golf), leaves the details of the land grab (think Trump and Greenland) to Cardinal Richelieu.
Reed's Grandier is a deeply flawed yet principled man who, despite his love of female flesh (every woman, including the nuns, in Loudun swoon over him), genuinely cares for his parishioners and fights against the destruction of his city’s autonomy.
Vanessa Redgrave plays Sister Jeanne, a hunchbacked nun who harbors an obsessive and unfulfilled carnal fixation on Grandier. When her repressed desires break out into a full-blown sexual hysteria, she accuses Grandier of witchcraft, setting off a chain of events that leads to his persecution and execution.
[I can't help but think Paula White would suffer from the same mania as Sister Jeanne, had not Trump allowed her to perform fellatio upon him. And we can also imagine Trump has the same amused opinion of his evangelical followers' beliefs as Louis XIII had of the beliefs of his Church partners].
Ken Russell’s Grand Guignol direction (no idea is too far-fetched to indulge), combined with the still-mesmerizing über-Baroque and brutalist set designs of Derek Jarman, create an unsettling atmosphere that underscores the film’s themes of oppression and moral decay. The film’s surreal imagery, chaotic violent crowd scenes, and grotesque depictions of religious fervor, heightens the sense of hysteria and corruption within Loudun.
Of course, the legendary scenes of mass sexual hysteria among the nuns, culminating in the possessed sisters engaging in frenzied orgiastic rituals, have cemented The Devils as one of the most shocking films in cinema history, even with its most depraved scenes left on the cutting room floor.
But beyond all its provocative imagery, its hellish mix of lust, perversion and torture, The Devils, at its heart, is a searing critique of institutional power that resonates across the decades to our MAGA Age. It exposes the ways in which political and religious authorities manipulate public perception for their own ends. Richelieu and his enforcer, Father Barre, use the accusations against Grandier to justify the destruction of Loudun’s fortifications, consolidating their control over France, just as in our MAGA Age Trump and evangelical heretics use accusations against colored immigrants to justify their border walls, or accusations against the colored poor to justify land/material exploitation around the globe.
Most of today's somnolent audience will have little understanding of The Devils political allegory, but The Devils will certainly still shock-and-awe even the most hardened purveyor of perversion with its depictions of sexual hysteria and torture.
But beyond all its provocative imagery, its hellish mix of lust, perversion and torture, The Devils, at its heart, is a searing critique of institutional power that resonates across the decades to our MAGA Age. It exposes the ways in which political and religious authorities manipulate public perception for their own ends. Richelieu and his enforcer, Father Barre, use the accusations against Grandier to justify the destruction of Loudun’s fortifications, consolidating their control over France, just as in our MAGA Age Trump and evangelical heretics use accusations against colored immigrants to justify their border walls, or accusations against the colored poor to justify land/material exploitation around the globe.
Most of today's somnolent audience will have little understanding of The Devils political allegory, but The Devils will certainly still shock-and-awe even the most hardened purveyor of perversion with its depictions of sexual hysteria and torture.
The Devils faced extensive censorship upon release. Even today, a fully uncut version is not available. Despite this, The Devils remains one of cinema's most arresting, disturbing and provocative works, and a timeless reminder of the destructive power of weaponized religion.
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