Richard Burton, Billy Connolly, Dominic Guard. At a Catholic school, Benjamin is tired of being the teacher's pet and decides to play a practical joke on his former master Father Goddard. In confession, he claims he accidentally murdered his friend. 1978/color/95 min/R/fullscreen.

At a Catholic public school, Benjamin Stanfield (Dominic Guard) is tired of being the teacher's pet and decides to play a practical joke on his former master Father Goddard (Richard Burton). In confession, Stanfield tells Goddard that he has accidentally murdered his friend Blakey (Billy Connolly) and buried him in the forest. When Goddard investigates the matter, he finds a buried scarecrow.

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The film's twisty plot is pure Shaffer -- a rigid, conservative system is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a liberating, almost pagan force (which, in a typical Shaffer twist, turns out to be as false as the establishment it destroys) and a great deal of senseless violence ensues. In Absolution, that establishment is the Catholic Boys School where Richard Burton teaches and dotes on one student (Dominic Guard) to an uncomfortable degree. That pagan force shows up as a bearded, Scottish drifter and theif (comedian Billy Connolly) who camps out in the countryside outside the school and ends up befriending Guard and leading the youth away from Burton and religion in general. (One of the film's flaws is that Guard's drastic transformation from good Catholic boy to Pagan prankster comes far too quickly.) Eventually, under Connolly's suggestion, Guard starts to tell Burton elaborate stories of sin during confession -- tormenting the priest with information that, as a priest, Burton is not allowed to share with anyone else. Eventually, what started as a joke spirals out of control into a vortex of murder, madness, and a surprise ending that comes out of nowhere but remains a lot of fun nonetheless.

Poorly directed by TV vet Anthony Page, the film's main appeal is to be found in its script and cast. Though not up to Shaffer's best work, Absolution -- especially early on -- displays a good deal of his stringent wit and he does a good enough job of keeping the story moving quickly enough that its not obvious just how ludicrous much of it is. He's helped by strong performances from his principles. Billy Connolly is likeable in a performance that'll surprise Americans who know him only as Howard Hesseman's replacement on Head of the Class. Andrew Kier, the final Prof. Quartermass, is a welcome presence as the school's head master while, as the two most distinctive students, Dominic Guard and David Bradley give nicely nuanced turns that alternate between youthful innocence and enigmatic slyness. Both Guard and Bradley were former child stars and both pretty much vanished from the screen following their performances in this film.

In the end, however, this is Burton's film and, even if miscast, he still gives an admirable performance that provides a much needed anchor to Shaffer's plot. Its a reminder -- after years of appearing in such claptrap as The Klansman and the Exorcist sequel, that Burton truly could be a good actor. This performance and his final turn in 1984 both suggest that, in his later years, Burton was finally ready to start acting again. Its difficult not to regret that he didn't get more chances to remind us of just how good he could be.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Burton's last starring roleApr 17, 2000

A good film, not quite able to break out of TV limitations thanks to a mainly TV director and a script not up to par with Schaffer's prior Sleuth. But the performances and characterisations are excellent, and enough to grip a viewer thinking of England on a rainy afternoon.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

A Twisted Game of Cat and MouseJun 07, 1999
By Bluehigh@aol.com
Burton is a priest who finds himself in a game of cat and mouse with a student. With twists and turns throughout as the suspense builds, Burton plays a priest who hears a student's confession of a horrendous act. Unable to share his (Burton's) knowledge with the authorities, his desparate attempt to save himself may cost him everything.

0 of 1 found the following review helpful:

This film could use some absolution....Oct 12, 2011
By Joseph P. Tevington
If you consider relections on films to constitute "spoilers," please read no further....

In his film career, Richard Burton played a Catholic priest at least three times, including twice in the late 70s:
* Becket (St. Thomas Becket), 1964
* Exorcist II: The Heretic (Father Lamont), 1977
* Absolution (Father Goddard), 1978

While Becket is a wonderful film & the Exorcist II is an exploitative work, Absolution fits somewhere in between. While it is a suspenseful mystery, it should be noted that it involves sacriligeous treatment of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and a seemingly despairing ending.

0 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Better on DVDFeb 27, 2010
By J. Loomis
I decided to go ahead and check this out and it wasn't bad for an older movie. It's not like it was meant to be a classic, but it sounds like it's a lot better now that it's on dvd. Seemed like the old VHS quality had issues.

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