The Keepers
3/4
Not Rated (probable R for Graphic Descriptions of Child Sexual Abuse and Related Violence)
On November 7, 1969, Sister Cathy Cesnik disappeared on her way to celebrating her younger sister's engagement. On January 3, 1970, her body was found. Now, two of her former students, Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, are determined to find out the truth. What they uncover is a truth too terrible to imagine, and a cover up that may have involved Sister Cathy's murder.
The stories of sexual abuse by religious officials are nothing new. In one way or another they've been an open secret for centuries, but only in 2001 when The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team ripped open the fact that not only was this a widespread problem but that the Catholic Church knew about it and covered it up, lying to the victims in the process. But while films like "Spotlight" or the documentary "Deliver Us from Evil" have taken a more issue-based approach to the subject, the eight-part documentary "The Keepers" has a tighter and more personal focus. In no way does this lessen the film's ability to provoke shock, heartbreak, and outrage.
And anyone who watches "The Keepers" will feel all of those things. The stories that women such as Jane Doe and Jane Roe reveal are excruciating to listen to. We can ostensibly "know" why this issue is relevant and outrageous, but listening to them recount the abuses they suffered put it into sharp focus. Yet director Ryan White wisely doesn't hype it up with threatening music or any other overt manipulation. Aside from some appropriately oblique re-enactments to suggest what is going to happen, he lets the material speak for itself.
As dark as the material sometimes is, there are moments of levity. Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, the two women doing the independent investigation into Sister Cathy's murder, are the rays of light in this tale of horror. They're immediately sympathetic, and their energy and spirit make taking this at times bitter pill a little easier.
"The Keepers" is less of a mystery about what happened to Sister Cathy than an examination of the abuses she tried to stop. The perpetrator was Father Joseph Maskell, the head of the school and an all around psychopath. Not only did he rape and sexually abuse dozens of his students, he psychogically tortured them into doing his bidding (however depraved his desires would be, which included forcing others to rape his victims themselves). One incident had him threaten his altar boys with a gun. And one witness claims that he showed her the body of Sister Cathy as a warning. His picture shows a kindly, almost boyish man that would have fit in during the Eisenhower years. But hearing stories of what he did to children he was supposed to care for turns his smiling face into a monster whose name I will not forget for a long time.
If the subject matter doesn't turn people off, the running length might. The documentary is divided into seven parts, each lasting about an hour each. That kind of eliminates binge watching, unless you have no plans and have a high tolerance for human evil. For everyone who doesn't have a strong stomach and an entire day to kill, this means watching it over a period of days is a necessity. But the whole thing lacks focus and has an awkward trajectory with an uncertain drive. More importantly, White doesn't do a good job of recapping the previous episodes, which can lead to confusion.
Yet I still recommend "The Keepers" to the right viewer. The subject matter is strong, and for all of its shortcomings, it is compelling viewing.
Not Rated (probable R for Graphic Descriptions of Child Sexual Abuse and Related Violence)
Behind the face of good...
Hides the soul of evilI can't remember where I heard that quote. Maybe it was a movie tagline. I don't know, but it certainly applies here. "The Keepers" is the horrifying story about how spiritual and sexual abuse at a prestigious Catholic high school in Baltimore was covered up, and how that led to destroyed lives, years of pain, and perhaps even murder.
On November 7, 1969, Sister Cathy Cesnik disappeared on her way to celebrating her younger sister's engagement. On January 3, 1970, her body was found. Now, two of her former students, Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, are determined to find out the truth. What they uncover is a truth too terrible to imagine, and a cover up that may have involved Sister Cathy's murder.
The stories of sexual abuse by religious officials are nothing new. In one way or another they've been an open secret for centuries, but only in 2001 when The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team ripped open the fact that not only was this a widespread problem but that the Catholic Church knew about it and covered it up, lying to the victims in the process. But while films like "Spotlight" or the documentary "Deliver Us from Evil" have taken a more issue-based approach to the subject, the eight-part documentary "The Keepers" has a tighter and more personal focus. In no way does this lessen the film's ability to provoke shock, heartbreak, and outrage.
And anyone who watches "The Keepers" will feel all of those things. The stories that women such as Jane Doe and Jane Roe reveal are excruciating to listen to. We can ostensibly "know" why this issue is relevant and outrageous, but listening to them recount the abuses they suffered put it into sharp focus. Yet director Ryan White wisely doesn't hype it up with threatening music or any other overt manipulation. Aside from some appropriately oblique re-enactments to suggest what is going to happen, he lets the material speak for itself.
As dark as the material sometimes is, there are moments of levity. Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub, the two women doing the independent investigation into Sister Cathy's murder, are the rays of light in this tale of horror. They're immediately sympathetic, and their energy and spirit make taking this at times bitter pill a little easier.
"The Keepers" is less of a mystery about what happened to Sister Cathy than an examination of the abuses she tried to stop. The perpetrator was Father Joseph Maskell, the head of the school and an all around psychopath. Not only did he rape and sexually abuse dozens of his students, he psychogically tortured them into doing his bidding (however depraved his desires would be, which included forcing others to rape his victims themselves). One incident had him threaten his altar boys with a gun. And one witness claims that he showed her the body of Sister Cathy as a warning. His picture shows a kindly, almost boyish man that would have fit in during the Eisenhower years. But hearing stories of what he did to children he was supposed to care for turns his smiling face into a monster whose name I will not forget for a long time.
If the subject matter doesn't turn people off, the running length might. The documentary is divided into seven parts, each lasting about an hour each. That kind of eliminates binge watching, unless you have no plans and have a high tolerance for human evil. For everyone who doesn't have a strong stomach and an entire day to kill, this means watching it over a period of days is a necessity. But the whole thing lacks focus and has an awkward trajectory with an uncertain drive. More importantly, White doesn't do a good job of recapping the previous episodes, which can lead to confusion.
Yet I still recommend "The Keepers" to the right viewer. The subject matter is strong, and for all of its shortcomings, it is compelling viewing.
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