The Rapture, written and directed by Michael Tolkin - 9.4 out of 10

The Rapture, written and directed by Michael Tolkin 
9.4 out of 10


Mimi Rogers carries this outstanding film with a mesmerizing, incredible,magnetic, complex, haunting and hypnotic performance.

The Rapture is one of the best motion pictures on The New York Times' Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list.

On the other hand, an evil voice in my head says that you could turn the famous John Stuart Mill quote 'the mind is its own place, it can make heaven out of hell and hell out of Heaven' on its head.
A vicious, false take on The Rapture would be:

'A woman with a ferocious virus working through her mind engages in frenetic sex in the first part of her story, only to become a bigoted, sick fundamentalist in the second half, when she kills in the name of Jesus'

That would be not just wrong, but maybe the exact opposite of the motion picture that is complicated, thought provoking, splendidly acted, captivating and sophisticated in that it raises questions that are fundamental and offers the various, opposing angles to the meaning of life, existence of God.

At the start, Sharon aka the superb Mimi Rogers is frenetically searching for pleasure in sex, with her companion Vic, but mostly with what seems to be alternating swingers, often debutantes, people met occasionally in bars and other public places.
This is how she runs into Randy aka the young but accomplished David Duchovny and his partner. 

The two couples engage in sex at the store that Vic has, although he is more interested in watching.
What seemed like one of a multitude of casual, coital encounters, develops into something more complex, albeit after a rocky start.

Randy gets involved, but Sharon is first more inclined to share her body with others, while experiencing a taedium vitae, an existential crisis in which she finds her life lacks meaning...well, a more significant one than copulating with hoi polloi.

'There has to be something more...I am tired of the pain in my life'

The heroine is visited by some missionaries and she has another vision, perhaps, when she is having so in another foursome and the other woman has a tattoo on her back.
This is an amusing moment, even if it may mark one stage in the revelation, epiphany of the protagonist, for while she has one man entering her from the side, she looks at the apparently religious tattoo and keeps asking questions about it,  until both men stop their frenzied intercourse...

'For God's sake, do you have to do this now?!'

Eventually Sharon is 'born again' or whatever the characterization should be and she is not only a believer now,but she is using her job to spread the word of God.
She works as a telephone operator - back in the old days- and when her boss talks about the excessive time she spends with various callers, it looks like she may be fired.

Instead, this man happens to be another very faithful man - and probably a strong Trump supporter today.
When she sees Randy, she tells him that she is in love with Jesus...

'Oh, yeah? And how is this going to work?
Is he going to keep his place or is he going to move in?'

He is not just acrimonious, cynical and an atheist, he rejects her new found faith decidedly...

'It's just a drug!
You're in pain and instead of doing heroine, you're doing God!'

Nonetheless, we skip a few years and the anti dogmatic Randy is now married to Sharon, a solid church going father of a girl of about five.
And tragedy strikes.

The Rapture is the best motion picture I have seen in quite some time.