Lambs of God (TV)
The first thing I want to discuss about “Lambs of God” is the cinematography. It’s shot by the legendary Donald McAlpine, and he gives it an old-Hollywood look that feels very befitting its Gothic setting. The colors and texture of the film reminds us of an early-Technicolor film, and it’s a visual pallet that fits perfectly with this miniseries’s subject matter.
Taken as a whole, the four episodes of “Lambs of God” build up to a compelling narrative on faith, isolation and secrets that veers off into some fantastic, some weird, directions for the nature of plot and keeping the story interesting. Once this adaptation of the book by Marele Day finishes, though, its cumulative effect is one of staying true to our core values and faith in the power of God. It’s a credit to the screenplay by Sarah Lambert and direction by Jeffrey Walker that it gets there.
We begin on an island off the coast of the UK at the worn down abbey, long thought abandoned. There, we find three Catholic nuns, Sister Iphigenia (Essie Davis), Sister Margarita (Ann Dowd) and Sister Carla (Jessica Barden). They are the remaining members of the Order of St Agnes, and they go about their daily routine of caring for the sheep, whom they see as the reincarnated souls of deceased sisters, and keeping up the abbey, as much as they can. One day, they are set upon by a young priest, Father Ignatius (Sam Reid), whom is coming to inspect the property for the Church; he is not aware of the sisters’s presence at the abbey before arriving. Startled, the sisters accost him, and take him captive, as they do not want their peaceful existence interrupted. On the mainland, Ignatius’s absence, and lack of communication, leads to an investigation that takes many different turns over the course of the four episodes.
Up until Ignatius’s arrival at the abbey, there is no indicator as to the time period we’ve been thrown into; if you think this takes place in a different century, you’d be well within your rights. Even when we are told it is 1999, and see cars and mobile phones, the abbey as our main location and focus is what keeps us feeling as though we are in a different world from the modern one. There’s a sense of old-time religion, with visions and seeing the devil in shadow, to each of the sisters, and seeing them profess their faith is one of the most compelling sights in this series. It’s understandable why they see Ignatius as a threat, and not just because he is a man- he is the outside world encroaching on their way of life, and it brings up challenges for each sister. The main performances are all sterling, with Dowd and Barden probably being the best in how they represent the pain of the past and the possibilities of the future for both the Order, and the individual characters, as well. When it focuses on the sisters and Ignatius, “Lambs of God” is must-see storytelling. There are many plot complications that cause the story to lose that focus, and the ending feels a bit forced, but it ultimately lands the emotional ideas it wants to, and it’s hard not to appreciate that.
This show is freaking amazing!!!