Twist of Faith

Released Jan 23, 2005

1h 27m

Documentary

List

100%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

81%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

This documentary, about sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, focuses on the life of Ohio fireman Tony Comes, who was abused by a priest at the age of 14. Having long buried the secrets of his past, Comes decides to take action when stories start surfacing in the media about other boys victimized by priests. As Comes, who now has a wife and two children, decides to prosecute Dennis Gray, the priest who sodomized him, he must face his community and confront his belief in God.

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Critics Consensus

With Twist of Faith, documentarian Kirby Dick follows one man's story in a gripping attempt to unravel the history of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

Dick's film puts a human face on a churchwide scandal that sometimes seems too big to comprehend.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 19, 2005

Full Review

Shawn Hubler

Los Angeles Times

It's a demanding film but one filled with important truths about humanity in all its denominations.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 21, 2005

Full Review

Lou Lumenick

New York Post

Kirby Dick's damning, Oscar- nominated documentary, Twist of Fate, puts a face on the clerical sex scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 1, 2005

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 4/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

Ross Anthony

Hollywood Report Card

Now 34, Tony opens his soul-searching, his home, his private moments with family & children so that the world can see the consequences of those that prey from the pulpit.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 5, 2005

Full Review

Timothy Knight

Reel.com

A remarkable portrait of a courageous man's efforts to put his life back together.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 23, 2005

Full Review

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Audience Member

Before the Academy Award winner "Spotlight", this disturbing documentary seems to have first brought up the revelation as the therapeutic form's main focus for exposing the sinful corruption and how it expands on the abusive subject matter from the personal relations being negatively affected by impacted mental scars which continuously grow by little due to injustice that the film seeks to resolve and spread out as a warning. (B) (Full review TBD)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

greg r

About as bad a documentary as can be made. While I feel awful that this man was possibly abused, nothing he did made me feel he was a good parent or even human being. I'm terrified for this man's kids. His parenting is atrocious. Genuinely the worst documentary I have ever seen. I am shocked by the reviews.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Kirby Dick brings light to a very serious issue. Overall I think it was a bit narrow and could have featured a wider array of criminals rather than focus on the story of one and his victim.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The worst thing about glass houses is the lack of privacy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I really like that they made a documentary about this, because this is a topic that needs to be talked about. However, the documentary itself didn't really answer any of my questions, was put together in a somewhat disjointed matter, didn't tell any sort of coherent story or create a solid enough atmosphere, and the ending was an abrupt transition away from what they were trying to say at the beginning. Obviously with a documentary you can't craft an ending the way you can in fiction, but it felt like the entire thing was dropped but they pretended it wasn't. Disappointing, because I was fascinated by the subject material.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It works as a companion to the horrifying documentary 'Deliver Us From Evil'. That film, while it dealt with the emotional toll it took on families and their personal rage at those responsible, was more about the environment in the Catholic Church that allowed this type of rampant abuse to occur and remain secret for so long. 'Twist of Faith' is entirely about the personal cost of sexual abuse on the victims. It never goes away, and its arguable that it may never really get better. The toll it takes on this mans family life, his sexual relationship with his wife, his interaction with other people, his religious faith, and every day moments is astronomical. Director Kirby Dick wisely keeps the focus on the people and lets them talk and tell the story. Its unbelievably sad and infuriating that this Priest could destroy so many lives . . . and not just those he abused but the loved ones of the victims as well.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Kirby Dick

Director

Eddie Schmidt

Producer

Kirby Dick

Executive Producer

Sheila Nevins

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

This documentary, about sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, focuses on the life of Ohio fireman Tony Comes, who was abused by a priest at the age of 14. Having long buried the secrets of his past, Comes decides to take action when stories start surfacing in the media about other boys victimized by priests. As Comes, who now has a wife and two children, decides to prosecute Dennis Gray, the priest who sodomized him, he must face his community and confront his belief in God.

Director: Kirby Dick
Producer: Kirby Dick, Sheila Nevins
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 23, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 25, 2012
Runtime: 1h 27m

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