It's inconceivable that a director like Frank Perry could have been associated with "Monsignor". Mr. Perry was a man responsible for some good movies in the sixties and seventies. Who knows what might have attracted him to direct this high camp picture that should be better forgotten.
The plot of the movie is preposterous, at best. The point the movie is trying to make is how the Catholic Church makes a perfect partner with the Mafia, something that could only make sense to the author of the novel. The second theme deals with the way Flaherty falls in love with the novice Clara, and how he keeps from her the secret of his identity, which is obvious, as the pair move in the same circles, so it would be inevitable for the young woman to find out who her lover really is.
"Monsignor" wastes two hours in trying to make sense without success. The cast does what it can trying to give life to these one dimensional characters they were asked to bring to life for the movie. Not even the musical score by John Williams does anything to help the movie.
Future viewers are warned as to what to expect.
