In A Nun's Story , Zinnemann directed Katherine Hepburn in a film about a nun who struggles with her desire to offer humanitarian service that is opposed by her Catholic order. Some have complained that Zinnemann forces the moral issues on his audience, that he succumbs to sentimentality. With the benefit of time, we can see that Zinnemann's controlled and subtle directing style allows for the import of the story take center stage. Far from being a problem, it's refreshing that he willingly takes righteous characters and shows us through their struggles what depths goodness can reach. A Man for All Seasons does just that.
Man is a sermon on integrity.
The trials that come to Thomas More come only because of his singular personal honesty in the face of great temptation to abandon his integrity. The trial of one's integrity, while tested in the world, only convenes in the personal conscience. For Thomas More, integrity is at once personal and at the same time public. While most men see Henry's plight as mere politics, More sees added significance in it. More responds bluntly.