Heaven Help Us (1985)

Heaven Help Us nearly got 4.5 stars from me but the movie provided more exposition than emotion (though the disciplinary scenes were quite gripping). In short, Heaven Help Us is like The Name of the Rose meets The Dead Poets' Society: It deftly pegs the atmosphere and the culture of a Catholic all-boys high school but the heart of the narrative is firmly in the mouth of a misogynistic mook whose be-all and end-all is to smoke, joke, and get girls. It is for this reason that I disliked Dead Poets' Society: We do not steep ourselves in faith and literature, appealing to our higher angels, so that we can drink, smoke, swear, rebel, and carouse. Anyway, our story begins in 1965 at St. Basil's Catholic Prep School for boys in Brooklyn. The Christian Brothers who administer and teach at the school are (as in real life) a mixed bag of souls: a stern yet pragmatic principal, Brother Thadeus (Donald Sutherland); an amiable and practical novice, Brother Timothy (John Heard); a hardline disciplinarian (who topples over the line into physical abuse), Brother William (William Eustace); and others. Father Abruzzi (Wallace Shawn) gives a scathing sermon against lust before the social dance between the boys and girls schools that may be a high point for many. Central characters are Michael Dunn (Andrew McCarthy), a kind and thoughtful boy whose grandparents, sister, and late parents are convinced he should become a priest (and possibly even Pope), though after several confrontations, he falls in with Rooney (Kevin Dillon), the lead troublemaker, Caesar (Michael Danare), and others. Dunn also falls in love with Danni (Mary Stuart Masterson), whose own tragic story leads to a measure of joy, grace, and sorrow for both. The closing moments carry us to a climactic confrontation and resolution that may have you gripping your seat. As it is, I would love to give this movie 4.5 stars but to do so it should be more like Taps than Wide Awake. 4 stars.