Review: The Man From Rome – “A unique religious action thriller”

Rome, Seville, The Pope, murder and secret agent priests. The man from Rome, starring Richard Armitage, is a Europe-wide action mystery that combines all these things into one feature film.

When the Vatican gets an anonymous alert to a growing threat based in Seville. Father Quart, played by Brit Richard Armitage, is sent to discreetly investigate

suspicious deaths occurring in a small church. Upon arrival, it is clear that this is only the beginning of what secrets this sanctuary withholds.

The opening acts of the film are strong, the scale seems large despite a relatively smaller budget and the world feels expansive. Despite being a relatively hard-to-believe concept, the ‘secret agency’ within the Vatican is sold well, detailing the urgency for the service and the way that it must operate. Amaia Salamanca thrives in her opening scenes where she is allowed to portray her character’s passion for the church and her family’s heritage with dread and panic.

Despite the cast’s best efforts and a great score from composer Roque Baños, the film seems to ‘bite off more than it can chew’ with rushed sub-plots and what feels like an unnecessary romantic interest for the religious priest. There is no comment or mention of any moral implication on the priest as to what has made him break his vows with such ease which really disassociated me from the lead character’s morals. Why is he so invested in the outcome of this church when he seems to completely disregard its teachings himself?

The man from Rome shines in parts, taking the audience on a unique ‘religious action thriller’ yet struggles to score with all of its own set-up.

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