SPOILERS! This is hardly an exact portrayal of The Decameron, but it really captures the spirit of some of the original story - adjusted for "shock value" inflation (The Decameron actually has many stories, by the way). It's kind of a strange movie, and not perfect, but I had a great time and thought it raised some interesting points to ponder. Of course a lot of this film is over-the-top... it is trying to impact us the same way that the Decameron did centuries ago. What I thought watching the film was after all this time we are STILL fighting the pious and unrealistic dogma of the Catholic Church (and some other organized religions), while most of the Church's members have moved out of the "ivory tower" of unrealistic views and into the real world with actual people (polls show that the majority of American Catholics support birth control, priests marrying, and gay marriage). And that is what the end meant for me with Molly Shannon's character leaving. SHE is the heart of the film. Is wanting to be loved a sin? Is the need for human affection wrong? That repression drives some of these characters to temporary insanity. Frankly, Christ would be found in the world - not behind walls. Of course they take it way over the top for the movie - it's a comedy. However, there is a real message here about repression, and even religious intolerance via dogma... again, with a HEAVY dash of over-the-top. Setting it so far in the past ads drives home the timelessness of this issue. It's important to note that much of this film was improvised. It ads a wonderful quality that is palpable with this wonderful cast and smart director.
Review of The Little Hours
