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By Lucy England.

Alex Gibney’s documentary Mea Maxima Culpa, exploring the much debated and highly publicised topic of paedophilia in the Catholic Church is a must see. It follows four deaf alumni of the St John’s school of the deaf, and their role in bringing forward the first protest against clerical sexual abuse against children in America – the Lawrence Murphy Case.

The film starts with reel of heart-warming images of the children at St John’s – happy in their silence in a supportive and loving atmosphere. Even their initial relationship with the man that will be their abuser is one of love and dependence. Father Murphy is their ‘second father’; they are desperate for his attention and he is a ‘Pied Piper’ figure. It is here that the sinister nature of their relationship begins to unfold.

Later in the film, Tony Walsh the notorious ‘singing priest’ belts out Blue Suede Shoes live on television, in complete denial that he has committed and crime. As the film details, these men are able to justify their actions by their apparent closeness to God, clearing them of all blame. It is this denial then, that Gibney takes such an issue with, claiming himself that Pope Benedict’s resignation was somehow related to knowledge of abuse within the church.

Therefore, the film focuses on the quiet truth of the four’s collective story, finally giving them the voice to express themselves to the world. As a whole, the film uses these interviews to weave together cuts of old footage with more modern research to express the scale of this issue, while still treating it with the necessary subtlety.

A well thought out explorative film of a very potent issue, Mea Maxima Culpa identifies that the ‘most grievous fault’ made when dealing with this debate is keeping it quiet, forcing children to be ashamed and believe that what they are experiencing is right, or if wrong, something they deserve. By bringing the issue into the world of film Alex Gibney opens it up to discussion and a larger awareness, and hopefully children such as these will no longer be silenced.

By Gordon Foote.

Eran Creevy, who some of you may remember from 2008’s Shifty, is back in the director’s chair with crime thriller Welcome To The Punch; the oddly named tale of ex-career criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) and the policeman who failed to stop his last big job, Max Lewinsky ( James McAvoy).

Three years later, Sternwood’s son is shot when a heist goes wrong and this forces Jacob back to London where Lewinsky is waiting for him – but as the pair continue their game of cat-and-mouse, it’s clear that Sternwood Jr. was involved in something big.

With heavy hitters like McAvoy and Strong in the lead roles, it should come as no surprise to learn that there are some great performances in Punch. McAvoy continues to prove himself to be one of the more versatile actors out there at the moment; his depiction of Lewinsky burns with resentment and self-loathing as a leg injury reminds him daily that he let Sternwood escape.

On the other side of the law, Strong is typically stalwart, giving an understated turn as the object of Lewinsky’s obsession.  He crafts a true professional; a man who broke laws to make money, not for any desire to hurt or wrong people, and as the film builds it’s hard not to feel sympathy for him.  Add to these the likes of Johnny Harris, David Morrissey, and Peter Mullan and you have a surprising amount of talent driving this cop drama forwards.

The talent extends behind the camera too, with Creevy showing he can certainly turn on the style when the call comes.  Set in London (as all action films apparently have to be, at least in part, these days) the director’s vision of his home city is one of deep shadow and neon highlights by night, and muted pastels by day: gritty with a capital ‘G’, but also polished, beautifully shot, and confident in its execution.

Welcome To The Punch is a film that oozes style; making promises of neo-film noir, and tipping its hat to the likes of Michael Mann’s Heat.  From the dynamic opening action scene, that concisely sets the tone and introduces the players, to the action packed finale, Creevy’s direction blends seamlessly with Ed Wild’s cinematography to create a film which is never less than slick and visually arresting.

Sadly, while Eran Creevy’s direction is top flight, his writing lets the film down, doing little to hide the fact that under its layers of undeniable panache, Punch is a run-of-the-mill cop story with the usual tick-box partner/love interests, police corruption, and predictable plot twists all present and accounted for.  Despite its shiny new look, you have seen this film before, more than once.

Skeletal dialogue, at times, makes characters unrelatable, and it is only due to the calibre of the cast that this doesn’t threaten to derail the entire film.  It’s a shame, because Creevy’s film-making is skilful enough, and backed up by a cast brimming with capable actors, that he manages to drag you along and hold your interest. Even as the film hurriedly garbles its final, overly familiar plot contrivance before putting up its feet and letting its tense, well-crafted action carry you through to the inevitable conclusion, it’s hard to begrudge Punch too much.

It’s a destination you know well, but this is a fun way to get there.

3/5