Mother Teresa’s 50-year epic journey from a cloistered nun to a renowned and iconic humanitarian is brought to the big screen in the drama The Letters. Director William Riead assembles a powerful cast to bring the letters Mother Teresa wrote to her spiritual advisor, Father Celest van Exem, to life. Her story is truly a fascinating one but, unfortunately, the film can’t quite match the totality of the story, lacking the passion and vigor to keep our interest for the duration of its 114-minute runtime.
In the beginning, Sister Teresa was just another one of the many cloistered nuns living in the impoverished city of Calcutta, India’s capital. One unsuspecting afternoon, she believes to have heard the voice of God call her to leave her current teaching position and serve the poor in the slums. This “call within a call”, she writes in one letter, was the beginning of her true life’s passion, becoming a voice for those in dire need of help and love. In 1950, she was elected to “Mother” after her self-started congregation- The Missionaries of Charity- was recognized by the pope and the church.
‘The Letters’ had the potential to be such a powerful, emotional, and laudable film with the word “Oscar” written all over it.
In a similar narrative style to The Notebook, Father Celest van Exem acts as a narrator using Mother Teresa’s letters as the script. The story jumps from the past to present day, as the priests push her canonization into sainthood after her death in 1997. As far as performances go, Juliet Stevenson transforms into Mother Teresa, adopting her frail mannerisms and gentle soul. She exudes confidence and heroism as the driving force behind the story.
The biggest critique comes from the film’s pacing. The beginning was so rushed, that in a state of confusion I actually had to rewind and rewatch the first few minutes to get a better understanding of the story. The second act- where Mother Teresa overcomes a hasty unwelcoming from the Hindus who distrusted her presence in their community because of her Catholic beliefs, to finally gaining their acceptance- takes it’s time to build and develop. This is the crux of the story, so the attention paid here is expected, but then the third act rushes by too quickly. In the last few minutes of the film, she has accepted a Nobel Peace Prize, becomes a globally recognized and worshiped name, and has enlightened the world on her “call within a call”.
The Letters had the potential to be such a powerful, emotional, and laudable film with the word “Oscar” written all over it. Instead, what we have here is a fair, melodramatic biopic that underwhelms when compared to what truly great work Mother Teresa accomplished.
The Letters is now playing in over 1,000 theaters nationwide including the Laemmle Playhouse 7, ArcLight, AMC, and Pacific Theaters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyAujrEur-U&feature=youtu.be
