Lois Weber, ever the didact, presents heavy symbolism; an academic's dream movie. Plot is dispensed with in favor of moral commentary. Bracketed by a melodramatic schema showing a priest overwhelmed by his inattentive congregation's hypocrisies are a series of vignettes illustrating moral principles. Binding the schema and these vignettes is the concept of naked truth, able and willing to expose the variety of ways people stray from moral rectitude and lie to themselves doing so. Most of the vignettes are beautifully, if heavily, presented, but they never deal with the priest's own failing: self-righteousness. Most telling is the priest's heedlessness in helping his few devoted followers. Cinematic storytelling like this needs few titles.
Review of Hypocrites
