Don't sweat the theology

Rating: Null/10 (2 April 2005)

'Constantine' is a very clever re-working of the so-called Manichaean heresy, which has been bothering the Catholic Church on and of for centuries. Manichaeism is a dualistic concept of 'good' and 'evil', which posits that God and the Devil have equal power and status, and sees the universe as a battle ground between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. Mainstream Christian theology, whether Protestant or Catholic, takes the view that the Devil is just another created being, and so can never be a full counterweight to God: he (it) is simply the Tempter, the one who influences people to reject God, (a bit like these 'demon half-breeds', I suppose). The Christian view is that human beings are already redeemed and the devil has been defeated by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. However, in the world of Constantine, it's all up for grabs, although I admit the scriptwriters seem to have doubled back on themselves at the end when they have Gabriel (is it?) pointing out that all Constantine had to do was genuinely repent his suicide to be let off the hook. I would only add, not because the suicide attempt had doomed him to hell but because it hurt God. (You've got to repent for the right reasons - it's not enough just to feel sorry because you have to live with the unpleasant consequences of your bad behaviour!) As a Catholic myself, I don't get annoyed when film makers appropriate the rituals or symbols of Catholicism for their own ends - it's all tremendously THEATRICAL, after all!. I loved the film simply because it was such a good take on this old, old chestnut which has been around for centuries - the Albigensians, the Cathars, etc - all convinced there was a war between the Two Super Powers, Heaven and Hell, and the exciting thing was, they never knew how it was going to turn out ...
Love from the were-cat.