Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
In some ways, it encapsulates the directors best and worst instincts.
Its not a tale of innocence lost, however, and thats maybe the most interesting thing about it.
Or is it the other way around?
To her, this seems to be both an instinctive and a pious act.
(Look, nobodys ever accused Verhoeven of being subtle.)
Suffering and joy at the same time?
Finding God isnt all that different from the unbearable pangs of carnal desire, it seems.
The fundamental mystery about Benedetta lies in her supposed mysticism.
Was she really talking to Jesus?
Was she really experiencing stigmata, or was it all a ruse staged with a well-concealed shard of glass?
And what about that booming, authoritative (and apparently male) voice she adopts in her reveries?
Was she a seer or a charlatan?
Later scenes, however, arent so certain.
At times, Benedetta herself seems unsure.
Hes clearly enjoying depicting the political machinations surrounding these characters.
Hes also clearly enjoying staging the sex scenes between Bartolomea and Benedetta.
He retains the showmanship of his Hollywood years, the embrace of the sensational, but not the vitality.
The messiness eventually starts to grate.
I suspect he wouldnt want it any other way.
