Stigmata
Short description
Frankie Paige is a young Pittsburgh hairdresser with little interest in religion until a rosary sent by her mother sets off a series of violent episodes. She develops wounds matching those of the crucified Christ, and the Vatican dispatches Father Andrew Kiernan, a former scientist who now verifies reported miracles, to look into her case. What begins as an investigation turns into a struggle to protect Frankie from the forces behind her suffering, while a senior cardinal pursues his own interests in the matter.
Rupert Wainwright directed the film, his second feature after Blank Check in 1994 and before The Fog in 2005. Tom Lazarus and Rick Ramage wrote the screenplay, and Frank Mancuso Jr. produced. Patricia Arquette plays Frankie, with Gabriel Byrne as Kiernan, Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Daniel Houseman, Nia Long as Donna Chadway, Thomas Kopache as Father Durning and Rade Šerbedžija as Marion Petrocelli.
Made for about 29 million dollars, the film took in roughly 50 million worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 6.2 from around 77,000 votes and on TMDB 6.3 from about 1,300, placing it in middling territory with viewers. A critics' rating of 4.8 from 92 reviews sits well below those audience scores, indicating a much cooler response from reviewers than from the public.
What's left behind the scenes
- Director Rupert Wainwright immediately chose Patricia Arquette for the role of Frankie.
- In the crucifixion scene and the appearance of the first stigmata on Frankie's body, rubber hand dummies with strings attached to the fingers were used, creating the effect that they were moving.
- Instead of Alameida's body in the coffin, a wax figure made in Los Angeles and sent to the set is shown.
- In the final garden scene, a statue of Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), a Catholic saint and the first person to have stigmata appear on his body, is shown in the background.
- Frankie writes on the wall supposedly in Aramaic, although it is actually ancient Hebrew. Director Rupert Wainwright found it more mysterious.
- Patricia Arquette and Nia Long are the only ones in the subway scene who were not stunt performers.
- When discussing stigmata, Frankie mentions the spear with which "He was killed." In reality, the spear was thrust into Jesus’ side to check if he was dead.
- Producers and director Rupert Wainwright initially intended to title the film "Saint Francis of Pittsburgh."
- The phrase “Split a piece of wood, and I am there; lift a stone, and you will find me there” is taken from the "Gospel of Thomas" (verse 81), one of the New Testament apocrypha. It is believed to contain the words Jesus spoke to his disciples. However, the text was actually written in Coptic, not Aramaic, as claimed in the film.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
