Into Temptation is a 2009 drama film written and directed by Patrick Coyle, and starring Jeremy Sisto, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Baumgartner, Bruce A. Young and Amy Matthews. It tells the story of a sex worker (Chenoweth) who confesses to a Catholic priest (Sisto) that she plans to kill herself on her birthday. The priest attempts to find and save her, and in doing so he plunges himself into a darker side of society.
The independent film was partially inspired by Coyle's father, a kind but belligerent man who had considered becoming a priest in his early life. The script won the McKnight Screenwriting Fellowship from the IFP Minnesota Center for Media Arts. Into Temptation was filmed and set in Coyle's hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Several supporting roles were filled with actors from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul theater, and Coyle himself performed in a supporting role.
It was produced by Ten Ten Films and Farnam Street II, and distributed by First Look International. With a budget of less than $1million, filming began in May 2008, and production concluded that December. Cinematography was provided by David Doyle, Russell Holsapple composed the score, and Lee Percy worked as editor. The film touches on themes of temptation, sin, good and evil, redemption and celibacy, as well as the boundaries between a priest providing counsel and getting personally involved with helping parishioners.
Into Temptation was optioned by Hollywood, but talks fell through due to complications from the Great Recession. The film did not receive a national release but played at theaters in several cities. Although first publicly shown for Coyle's father in December 2008, Into Temptation officially premiered on April 26, 2009, at the Newport Beach Film Festival, where Sisto won the "Outstanding Achievement in Acting" award. The film received generally positive reviews. It was released on DVD on October 27, 2009.
Plot Father John Buerlein (Jeremy Sisto) is the mild-mannered priest of a small Catholic parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Overworked and underpaid, he has grown jaded with the profession and has trouble connecting with his parishioners. During confession, a mysterious and unnamed prostitute (Kristin Chenoweth) confesses to a sin she has not yet committed: she plans to commit suicide on her birthday. Father John is taken aback. The confession ends abruptly, and he is unable to stop the woman before she disappears. He knows only that she wears a crucifix and is an Aries (her birthday is soon). Father John grows obsessed with finding and helping this woman, and begins visiting the city's red-light district with the hopes of finding her. On his way home, Father John meets a homeless man named Gus (Gene Larche), but with no money for him, he gives him a rosary instead. Later, he seeks counsel from his friend Father Ralph O'Brien (Brian Baumgartner), who advises him not to become too personally involved.Patrick Coyle (Director). (2009). Into Temptation [Motion picture]. United States: First Look International.
Father John returns to the red-light district and speaks to a prostitute named Miriam (Greta Oglesby), who suggests a powerful pimp named James St. Clair (Ansa Akyea) might know about the woman. As they speak in a bar, the mysterious prostitute enters and solicits a john (Patrick Coyle), who leaves with her immediately. As she goes, Father John catches a glimpse of the crucifix she is wearing and tries to chase her down. She leaves in the john's car before he can catch them, but he writes down the license plate as they drive off. Back at church, his sermons start to grow more unorthodox, and Father Ralph warns him that his unusual church manner and trips to the red-light district have the archbishop concerned. Meanwhile, Father John is contacted by his ex-girlfriend Nadine Brennan (Amy Matthews), who tells him she is divorcing her husband and still harbors romantic feelings for Father John.
Father John learns the john's car belongs to an accountant named Steven Miller, who tells Father John the prostitute is Linda, an expensive call girl who is widely considered among the best at her profession. Meanwhile, Linda visits her dying, elderly stepfather Donald Dupree (Tom Carey), who repeatedly raped Linda in her childhood and ultimately set her on the path to prostitution. Linda confronts him about their past, but claims she has forgiven him his sins, even though he continues to deny any wrongdoing. A drunk Nadine goes to talk to Father John in confession about her loneliness and feelings for him. He admits to caring for her as well, but they agree to remain friends. Later, Father John hires Lloyd Montag (Bruce A. Young), an unemployed boxer at his church, to serve as his bodyguard as he talks to St. Clair. The pimp, who knows Lloyd from his boxing days, tells Father John what neighborhood Linda lives in. There, Father John and Lloyd find Zeke (Tony Papenfuss), a taxi driver who knows they are looking for Linda and agrees to take them to her apartment. Zeke explains he had driven her to the church when she first spoke to Father John at confession, and Zeke later visited the church to watch Father John preach.
At the apartment, Father John and Lloyd find Linda has moved out, but they discover she had possessed a 12-year-old newspaper clipping about Father John's ordination. Father John offers Lloyd a job helping out at the church, which Lloyd accepts. Father John then returns to his church and cries, fearing he is too late to save Linda. Meanwhile, Linda goes to a bridge and is about to jump off when she encounters Gus, who offers her the rosary he received earlier from Father John. A grateful and emotional Linda hugs Gus. It is not revealed whether she commits suicide or not. In a confession to Father Ralph, Father John expresses guilt he did not absolve Linda before her confession abruptly ended. Father Ralph says that even if Linda is dead, her soul is immortal, and that Father John's penance is to absolve her now. Father John does so. The film ends with a childhood memory of young Linda at church, where a group of boys laugh at her old torn clothes until she is defended by a young John Buerlein, whose act seems to make a strong positive impact upon her.
Production Writing
Into Temptation marks the second film by independent filmmaker Patrick Coyle, who wrote and directed the 2003 drama film Detective Fiction. Coyle said Into Temptation was partially inspired by his father, James Patrick Coyle, a kind but belligerent man who had been encouraged by his mother to become a priest. James entered seminary but dropped out before ordination after he was drafted into serving overseas in World War II and met Margaret Mary Quinlan, who would become his wife and Patrick Coyle's mother. Coyle conceived of the script for Into Temptation while imagining what kind of priest his father would have been. His father strongly approved of the project, and told Coyle, "Go make that movie. And tell the truth." Coyle was also partially inspired by his childhood pastor and friend, the Reverend Damian Zuerlein, who performed the marriage ceremony for Coyle and his wife and baptized their children. Coyle said of him, "He's just a young, energetic, competent, committed, devoted man working with a poor parish. And he loves his work. I was inspired by that." Coyle said when writing Into Temptation, he did not intend to make a religious film, and said of protagonist Father John Buerlein, "The character could have been a minister or a rabbi or a public defender. He's a good man trying to do a job the best he can."
Ann Luster, the film's producer, helped with the script from the earliest stages, and claimed she and Coyle had a deep understanding of how to handle the characters from the start. The film was set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Coyle lived and worked as a writer and actor at the time. The fictional church in the story, St. Mary Magdalen's Downtown Catholic Church, is based in part on the St. Mary Magdalene church in Omaha, Nebraska, where Coyle was raised. However, the real-life church was also very different from the fictional church in that it lacked a shelter and drew very large congregations for weekend mass, compared to the half-empty pews in the fictional church. The fictional church is also based in part on Our Lady of Guadalupe, another Catholic church in south Omaha. The Into Temptation script won the McKnight Screenwriting Fellowship from IFP Minnesota Center for Media Arts, and investors were sought through public readings. After reading the script, Patrick Coyle's wife said, "If you get a good Father John, you'll have a good movie."
Casting Jeremy Sisto said he was drawn to the script and was excited to take on a different project than his regular role of Detective Cyrus Lupo on the NBC crime drama series Law & Order. Sisto said of working on the show, "For nine months we basically do the same episode over and over. This [Into Tempation script] came out of nowhere." Sisto said of working on Into Temptation: "Having just come off a job where there is little room to find true moments and to create a full character, I felt this respite from the task of trying to force a space where I could express something more personal through my job was no less than a creative life saver."
Coyle cold called Kristin Chenoweth's agent and proposed the part, which is different from her usual roles, and her agent said it was the exact part the actress was seeking. In order to film Into Temptation, Chenoweth took a five-day hiatus from her supporting role on the ABC television series Pushing Daisies. Brian Baumgartner was previously a regular theater performer in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul area before joining that show. While visiting New York City in May 2008 for an upfront presentation, shortly after having finished filming the fourth season of The Office, Baumgartner was offered the Into Temptation script by Coyle, who asked him to consider taking the role of Father Ralph O'Brien. Baumgartner said he enjoyed the script and agreed to the part.
Writer and director Patrick Coyle plays Steven Miller, one of Linda's clients. Many of the other minor roles were filled by local Minneapolis actors and community members. Greta Oglesby, who played the street-smart prostitute Miriam, and Isabell Monk O'Connor, who played a librarian who helps Father John, were both veterans of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul theater circuit. Ansa Akyea, who played pimp James St. Clair, and Amy Matthews, who played Father John's ex-girlfriend, were also from the Minneapolis – Saint Paul area.
Filming
Into Temptation was produced by Coyle's production company, Ten Ten Films, and the company Farnam Street II, in association with Cabin 14 Productions. It was distributed by First Look International. About a year before the film was released, Coyle asked Anne Marie Gillen to serve as executive producer. Gillen said she had not responded to a script in such an emotional way since the 1991 drama film Fried Green Tomatoes, which she also produced. Filming, which began in May 2008, took place entirely in Minneapolis. It included several scenes staged in the city's Uptown commercial district, where Coyle lived.