It's a miracle that a feature film made for less than $10K is as intriguing and unpredictable as Exemplum. It's an uncompromising thriller with believable acting, striking cinematography, and reminded me of other gifted directorial debuts, like Darren Aronofsky's "Pi" and Christopher Nolan's "Following."
Father Colin is a complex character; a young Catholic priest who sees an opportunity to share a faithful message in the modern social media era. But how he shares his message isn't exactly ethical. And is he doing it for fame or faith? Is there a gray area? The movie lets you decide instead of spoon-feeding you the answer. Then the movie takes a gripping turn when blackmail is introduced; I can honestly say it's no Pureflix movie and I couldn't tell how it was going to end.
I like the black and white, grainy look. I'm usually against B&W films, unless there's a really, really good reason for it, but the film stock gave it a foreboding feeling.
For its minuscule budget, it's very impressive that Exemplum is not boring. Catholics will get some inside baseball stuff, but anyone who likes a good modern thriller will also enjoy.