Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 02/28/24
A woman for the ages. Cabrini, the upcoming feature film release from Angel Studios, is based on the true life story of Francesca Cabrini (aka Mother Cabini), an Italian nun who, in 1889, arrived in New York City where she famously went on to on to to become a champion of orphans and immigrants. The film stars Cristiana Dell’Anna in the title role, David Morse as the conflicted Archbishop Michael Corrigan (interviewed below), John Lithgow as the immigrant-bashing Mayor Gould and Giancarlo Giannini as a wise Pope Leo XIII. Cabrini is directed by Alejandro Monteverde and written by Rod Barr who also collaborated on Sound of Freedom, Angel Studio’s sleeper hit from last summer. Cabrini debuts in theaters on International Women’s Day (Friday, March 8th). Rated: PG-13
IMHO: With the issue of immigration topping the charts as the #1 issue of the current presidential campaign (and both President Biden and former President Trump visiting the southern border tomorrow), the story of the woman who Pope Pius XII would later name the Patron Saint of Immigrants seems especially timely. Add to that the fact that, as presented in the film, Mother Cabrini was a something of a feminist of her day as she took on the male establishment both in the Church and in the government. Despite the late 1800s setting, this is a very timely story with a very modern protagonist (though, despite strong public support, not quite modern, or Woke, enough to be honored by New York’s previous mayoral administration). The evocative cinematography, meanwhile, calls to mind the Gotham City of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. Walking the dark streets in her black cape, Cabrini (despite her frail health) sometimes almost resembles a superhero battling the sinister forces of bigotry and political corruption.
The performances in the film are first rate, with the complex relationship between Cabrini and Archbishop Corrigan being especially interesting. As portrayed by Morse, the pragmatic archbishop finds himself slowly becoming inspired by the strong-willed sister even as he is somewhat intimidated by the bigoted and corrupt Mayor Gould. While immigration is the most obvious current issue the movie touches on, Gould’s ruthless weaponization of government agencies against the politically inconvenient sister he disdains also, unfortunately, speaks to our time.
While John Lithgow delivers a virtuoso performance as the villainous politician, my rather slight research indicates that he didn’t actually exist. The actual mayor during the early years of Cabrini’s mission to New York was as guy named Hugh J. Grant. There’s also no Mayor Gould listed among his successors. This leads me to wonder if there’s a good deal of dramatic embellishment regarding that part of the story.
That distracting detail aside, I have no doubt that Mother Cabrini is an impressive historical figure whose story warrants a biopic. There’s a lot to be said for this one in terms of acting, directing and production values. The script, however, could have used a little tightening. There’s a lot of exposition up front about her time in Rome that probably could have been condensed so that we get to her arrival in America sooner. I also would like to have learned a bit more about the other sisters in her mission. Overall, it’s likely to hold your interest and bring some much-deserved attention to a true American hero.
The Bottom Line: While Cabrini may be unlikely to achieve the broad commercial success that Sound of Freedom did, there’s probably a decent art house audience for it.
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From Saint to Shining Saint. The prolific actor David Morse first gained national notice in the classic 1980’s medical drama St. Elsewhere. That show boasted an memorable ensemble cast that also included Ed Begley Jr., Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon and Denzel Washington. Since then he has piled on lots of impressive acting credits, including starring opposite Tom Hanks in The Green Mile and an Emmy-nominated turn playing George Washington in the HBO miniseries John Adams. His latest role, as mentioned above, is that of Archbishop Michael Corrigan in the Catholic saint biopic Cabrini.
JWK: What attracted you to this story?
David Morse: It’s really so incredibly inspiring. The director, Alejandro Monteverde, had asked me to do a couple of movies before which I couldn’t do. I finally got to say yes to one.
JWK: How would you describe the character of the archbishop?
DM: He really was a product of Rome. When he became a bishop in New York and (then) New Jersey, he was actually the youngest bishop ever in this country up that point. He had gone to school in Rome at the American University there. He felt very connected in that world. When he came back here to this country, he was very ambitious. When he became archbishop he had real things he wanted to do but, at that time, New York was so corrupt. It was the Tammany Hall era. Moving and working within that world, he became more of a politician than anything else. Because of Mother Cabrini, he would discover that he had lost touch with being a shepherd of his flock. When she meets him, that’s really who he is. He really is a politician. She is a threat to him and the work he’s trying to get done. Over the course (of the film), you see how he changes and their relationship changes. Eventually they become friends. It’s a good story.
JWK: He was considered by some to be sort of anti-immigrant, right?
DM: One of sort of the really despicable things (he did) was not allowing the Italians in the church sanctuary. If he let them into the building at all, it was in the basement. He just felt they were unclean, their behavior was bad and they were just going to chase away the “regular” parishioners. He didn’t want it. It was not good.
JWK: And, over the course of his relationship with Mother Cabrini, did he begin to change?
DM: We see that in the story.
JWK: What do you hope people take from the film?
DM: First of all, they’re just going to have a beautiful experience watching the movie.They’re gonna see a movie that the Hollywood studios really don’t do anymore. There are no kind of middle-ground movies. There are less expensive ones and there’s the Marvel comic book world of really big, big movies. This is an honest-to-goodness old-time kind of movie that we all love to watch.
JWK: Are you attracted to characters that are hard to categorize as either heroes or villains, the ones with a lot of gray areas?
DM: I certainly get asked to do a lot of them. I get asked to do a ton of roles that are just really bad guys…I have to turn down a lot of that stuff. The ones that I get attracted to are the ones who have a real journey. There’s something deeper to them, more to them, than that.
JWK: I understand that you grew up in the Episcopal Church and that you do actually pray. Does your faith play a role in the parts you choose to take on?
DM: It’s hard to do that. I actually have thought about that a lot. It’s more how you do your work, how you approach your life. There are things that just offend me. That could be (because of) my faith. That could be just me. They’re really tied up. It’s me. At different times of my life I was very active in our local Episcopal churches. Faith has meant a lot to me over the course of my life.
JWK: How did you get into acting?
DM: Really, in high school. There was a woman, Mrs. Ferrini, who, when I was a freshman, cast me in something and she changed my life over the course of those four years. In my senior year, she invited someone who had been at the high school who was having some problems in his life (but) who was probably the best actor that had ever been at that school. He had had some sort of emotional problems. So, she invited him to direct a play there which he did with me and another fellow (acting in it). It was pretty successful. He suggested to me that I go into Boston and audition for a company that he was part of that was forming called the Boston Repertory Theater. So, I skipped school and went in and auditioned for that and they asked me to become a member. I’ve been (acting) ever since.
JWK: Your breakout role was as Dr. Jack Morrison in the TV show St. Elsewhere. That was kind of an idealistic character, right? I get the feeling that you do like to play good guys.
DM: Yeah. You know, I had actually done a movie before that called Inside Moves. I had never done a movie or television – and I starred in the first movie I ever did! Then I couldn’t get a break in movies after that. It came out and disappeared within two weeks. The distribution company went bankrupt, the movie was pulled from the theaters and nobody got to see it. Then I ended up almost not even doing television for the next ten years. St. Elsewhere was very big…That character, Morrison, had just a great heart, a great empathy. One of the things that was hard about doing that role was that the writers had such fun victimizing him. He was always having things happen to him. He became more known for that – being a victim – than for his good work as a doctor.
JWK: How did you feel about the way the show ended? It was kind of controversial.
DM: Yeah. If you want people to know what it was: All six years all took place in the mind of an autistic child. The hospital itself was in a snow globe that he kind of cherished. So, everything that happened was in his imagination. When I read it I thought “Oh, my God! This has got to be one of the most brilliant endings to a series I can imagine!” Then when I saw it (I thought) “Oh, that’s just too big of a leap.” The reality of what we were confronted with in that last episode I think was tough for people to go with.
JWK: I actually had the same feeling watching the end of Newhart – where you’re watching the show all those years and then you’re told none of it actually happened.
DM: Yeah, but I think what was so great about (St. Elsewhere) was the writers’ willingness to do stuff like that. Hill Street Blues started the year before us and they just kind of set a template for a way to tell stories which was different than anything on TV. We did a similar thing. Those two producers, Steven Bochco and Bruce Paltrow, had been partners on The White Shadow. They both created these shows at the same time. It just happened that Hill Street got on first. What was different was that the writers on our shows really used their imaginations and told stories in a way that nobody was doing on television.
JWK: Later on you won an Emmy nomination for your role on House. I understand that you were reluctant do the show because you found House to be such an unlikable character and you didn’t understand why people would watch the show.
DM: That’s completely true. The guy who created the show, David Shore, had been on Hack. He got fired from that and then he created House. I tried watching it. I couldn’t stand the character but I heard everyone talking about how brilliant it was. Then David asked me if I would do an arc on it. I said “I’m just not sure I want to do it.” When I told all my friends, they were like “Are you kidding?! You have to do the show?! It’s the best show on TV!” So, I went and did it and was very happy I did.
JWK: Then, after that, you went on and got a second Emmy nomination for playing George Washington in John Adams.
DM: That’s right.
JWK: Getting back to Cabrini, you’re also playing an actual person in this movie. Is the way you approach playing someone who actually existed different than it is for playing a fictional character which you can, more or less, create yourself?
DM: One of the things with a real person is you have real research you can do on them – but you also have the responsibility of really portraying that person as truly as you can. There’s always going to be people who object to it. There are historians who object to the way I (played) George Washington. There were like “No, no. This was not George Washington.” Other people just thought it was amazing. What they don’t remember is that it really was George Washington through John Adams’ perspective and his experience. There was so much more to that man than what Adams experienced.
JWK: From what you learned about him, do you like George Washington?
DM: I’m completely fascinated by him. There are things that don’t like at all about him (but) he set the template for walking away from the most powerful job in the (country). Rulers around the world couldn’t believe that he did it. He set the terms and then he passed on the power – and we’ve been doing that every since.
JWK: You’ve had success in every medium. Besides your movie and TV roles, you received a Tony nomination for your role in a revival of The Iceman Cometh. Do you have a favorite medium to work in?
DM: You know, I don’t get to do plays a lot. It’s where I started. It’s really my first love. When I do do them, I do them because I can’t say no to them. If it’s the right project and the right people, it usually turns out to be a fantastic experience. It really is what I love. I love the experience of being with an audience with other actors. All of us sharing that experience together, I really love that.
JWK: Would you ever do another TV series?
DM: Oh, sure.
JWK: Is there any type of show you’d like to do?
DM: It was fun doing a show like Hack. I did a lot of movies with action in them. It sounds childish but it’s really fun to do that stuff. I did a series called Outsiders. Not a lot of people saw it but it was really a blast to do it. The quality of storytelling isn’t always the best and, at my age, I’m not going to asked to do that stuff anymore. I can’t say that there’s one kind (of show) that I’d really like to do. I just love to work. I love to do different things and I’m grateful that people are still asking me.
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John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.
Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
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