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Title: Stagey, "Bible film" melodrama
Review: I rented the movie because of a review that led me to believe the movie would educate me and provide some nuance. It's not in any way that kind of movie. Rather, it's a devotional treatment, appropriate for a Protestant religious family looking for a wholesome movie for a holiday. The opening scenes show young Luther to be so pious and important that even straightening his shirt is accompanied by pious grimaces and an entire string section. Every word out of Fiennes' mouth is delivered more hammy than a Hamlet monologue. The movie settles down into a predictable heroism (nothing extraneous to his religious bravery gets a line): all the Catholic Church is full of corrupt meanies who know they're corrupt, and every peasant cheers Luther on. It's a nicely staged Bible type movie, full of all the usual cliches, but it's about as interested in a nuance as Luther was interested in an indulgence.
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