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It would take a miracle to create high drama out of Vatican bureaucracy, and there are no such miracles to be found in "The Letters," a reverent but sluggish depiction of the life of Mother Teresa.
Writer-director William Riead shows Teresa (played by the British actress Juliet Stevenson) in Calcutta, urging her superiors to let her serve the poorest of the poor. Catholic hierarchy first dismisses her requests, while locals are suspicious that she aims to supplant their Hindu faith with Christianity.
Riead's repetitive script often mentions Teresa's inner turmoil, as she battled inner demons that told her God had abandoned her — a feeling mentioned in letters to her spiritual adviser, Father Celeste von Exem (played at different ages by Aapo Pukk and Max von Sydow), but never shown in Stevenson's beatific portrayal.
Rutger Hauer also stars, as a Vatican priest investigating the case for Teresa's sainthood — which is still pending officially, but never in doubt in Riead's unquestioning look at Teresa's life and works.
'The Letters'
Opens Friday, Dec. 4, at area theaters; rated PG for thematic material including some images of human suffering; 118 minutes.