The Reader Travels

I loved The Brothers McMullen. With its indie appeal, the acting is crap, but the dialogue is brilliant. Ed Burns beautifully captures the Catholic American dilemma, reconciling American culture with sin and guilt, using religion as a motivator, an excuse, and the basis for some really screwed up logic.

The youngest brother, Patrick, is so afraid of commitment, he tells his girlfriend he can’t move in with her because of his religion, yet he admits to himself, “If I obeyed every rule that said I should wait until I got married, I’d still be a virgin.”

At one point Patrick is so consumed with guilt, he utters the statement, “I’m a Catholic. My life is over. I’m going to Hell.” I could completely relate to this feeling. At one point in my life I was convinced that marrying my abusive, illiterate, broke-tooth, inbred boyfriend was the only way I would be able to redeem my soul for the mortal sin of having sex with him before I got married. Thank God my reason finally overcame me.

But of all the things Patrick McMullen says, my favorite was a phrase that sums up his whole character. He says, “I don’t need any new ideas. I’m confused enough already.”

This entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2007 at 8:26 pm and is filed under losing my religion, meanderings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.