As a teaching priest in a British boy's academy, Richard Burton finds himself up against some calculating minds in this depressing drama. The judgments of his old school religion turns one of his prized pupils against him, claiming in confession sins of the flesh and taking it a step too far as a further part of his revenge. This is basically a variation of "The Children's Hour" with boys instead of girls, as well as a bit of "The History Boys" and various other educational stories where a teacher thought of as a mentor finds themselves in a moral crisis beyond their comprehension. By the time this hits its dramatic high point, the audience is numb from trying to comprehend what it's all about. While Burton is fine and the young actors all believable, it's the way the story progresses that turns it upside down to make it extremely frustrating to try and follow, let alone believe. There's a passive/aggressive crippled student who goes out of his way to make the situation worse, all seemingly out of revenge towards Burton for favoring the more popular boys. The lack of real motivation makes this feel forced, a twisting path in the woods that seems to be out to attack the sacrament of absolution rather than to explain its purpose. Having had only a preview showing after completion, it was released officially years after Burton's death, sparing him the embarrassment of its quick failure.

By this time in Richard Burton's career, his level of acting wildly varied from film to film. Fortunately, in "Absolution" he gives a good performance. He is very believable as a humorless figure who sometimes acts very cruelly in the so-called belief that it is doing his students good. But he is not the only good thing about the movie. The script has a story that doesn't contain any slow spots, and slowly raises the tension as things progress. There is also a twist near the very end that will surprise some viewers, though I must admit I had a little idea that not only were things not quite what they seemed, but also that a character who appeared sporadically up to that point would have to have some play in the end since otherwise he didn't seem to have any purpose in the movie. But despite this glaring clue, the movie is well worth a look.

In the last decade of his life Richard Burton was doing just about anything put in front of him for money. He felt, probably rightly so, that he had nothing to prove as an actor. So why not build up a nest egg, especially with all the heavy duty alimony he was laying out. It's the only reason I could think of he did Absolution.Burton plays a priest at a British Catholic school where he's got some really sadistic kids on his hands. After a class in which he carefully explains the religious implications of the confessional and the restrictions it places upon a priest hearing confession, Father Burton hears some confessions that positively drive him to the brink and he singles out one youth as responsible for it all. Drives Father Dick quite bonkers.It's pretty bad, it's the sort of stuff that the producers of American slasher films would do with a little more gore. It didn't enhance Burton's reputation and I wouldn't waste my time.

It's a gripping thriller, and Richard Burton is utterly convincing in the kind of role he was born to play (a rigid priest/teacher, but with traces of humanity underneath). But the constant flow of twists results in constant shifts in the characterizations, until the whole thing becomes too far-fetched for its own good. Nonetheless, it certainly didn't deserve its gross mistreatment by the American distributors, who released it ten years after it was made. (**1/2)