Anchoress

Stunningly photographed, Chris Newby's ANCHORESS aspires to the stark eloquence and moral significance of Ingmar Bergman's THE SEVENTH SEAL, but this rather precious debut feature falls considerably short of that lofty mark.

In 14th-century England, Christine (Natalie Morse), a dreamy, illiterate peasant girl, catches the eye of the darkly handsome reeve (Gene Bervoets), steward of the manor, who assumes that his offer of marriage will be enthusiastically accepted. The ambitious priest (Christopher Eccleston), who is in competition with the reeve for the people's tithes, is delighted when Christine rejects the reeve's proposal. After a statue of the Virgin Mar...