He's Just a Man: Savage Messiah (2002)

Murderers.  Maniacs.  Madmen.

It's no secret these creatures are a natural draw at the box office, but I couldn't tell you why.  I’m not quite sure what our fascination is with them.  Is it that seeing them on screen makes us feel "normal"? Is it that we can live vicariously through them, seeing an exaggerated version of what we'd secretly like to do to a difficult boss or an ex-lover? It’s probably different for each of us.

At any rate, when I think of “killer films,” one that definitely sticks out in my mind is the 2002 picture Savage Messiah.

Directed by Mario Azzopardi, it tells the story of Roch Thériault, the leader of a polygamist commune in Canada in the late 1980s.  Roch's followers, who were mostly women, believed him to be a reincarnation of Moses.  With this status came a power Roch would use to mentally, physically, and sexually abuse his sheep-like disciples.

I am always wary of “based on a true story” films, but Azzopardi does a phenomenal job of creating an engrossing story while still staying true to the actual events.

Photo credit: The Cinematic Intelligence Agency

The highlights of the film are the performances of Luc Picard, (Roch/Moses) and Isabelle Blais (Lise).  I would later learn the character of Lise, one of Thériault's concubines,  was based on Gabrielle Lavallée, who wrote an autobiography exposing life at the commune.  Picard brings the perfect balance between crazed madman and charismatic leader, while Blais gives a unique depth and strength to a character so weak on the surface.

After seeing this single film, Luc Picard instantly became one of my favorite actors (I immediately began searching for and quickly devouring anything else he was in that I could find).  He just captured the character so well.  He had to have done some sort of research on his role, immersing himself in the cult leader's life.  It was even his eyes.  You could tell he believed what he was doing.  I was sucked in and could forget that I was watching a film.  He became Roch Thériault.

Photo credit: Amman Cinemas

The part that both fascinated and horrified me was that I could completely see and understand why people would have been lured in by him. Roch had something about him, a presence and a sense of self that made even the strongest of women fall over themselves and the most cynical of men believe everything he was saying.  According to Joe Navarro, a former FBI agent, the most common trait of a dangerous cult leader is extreme narcissism.  Leaders believe they are inherently special.  That they alone have all the answers.  This fits Roch Thériault to the T, and was somehow captured exquisitely on film during several scenes.

The first that really struck me was the barroom scene. This is when we see Roch truly “work his magic” for the first time. He joins a group of women and can instantly read the underlying emotions churning within one of them. He then comes in contact with a waitress who is obviously in great physical pain. Roch tells her that he can heal her with his hands. This begins an almost hypnotic sequence where he is somehow able to cure the woman's pain. The viewer is sent into just as much of a trance as the waitress herself.

It becomes evident that his power is not merely limited to women, though. There is a later scene in which an independent assessment team, made up of two women and one man, is brought to the commune. It is here that Roch really shows his brilliance. He is able to play to the weaknesses of each assessor individually. Discussing the struggles of French Canadians with the woman who shares that lineage, encouraging the other woman when she talks about a commune she lived on in the 60s, and even offering a sexist view of a woman's “place” when talking with the man.

The most telling moment of his power, however, comes at the end of the film when Roch is sentenced for his crimes. All of the women who had been under his control, even those who have left him, are brought to tears, several even hyperventilating.

They can't even breathe without him.

Roch's power sounds unbelievable. And I suspect it would not have been if not for Picard's performance. He balances crazy with sympathetic flawlessly, even up to the very last moments of the film.

Still, a cult leader is only as powerful as the followers he is able to seduce.... 

Photo credit: allmovie

The “leading lady” of the film was no doubt supposed to be Polly Walker, as social worker Paula Jackson. She was written to be the savior, coming to rescue the lost souls, but she turns out to be one of the film's few but noticeable weaknesses. When compared to the others in the film, her acting is just not up to par and the times when the audience is supposed to sympathize with her, it never quite works out.

Instead, it is Isabelle Blais who clearly steals the show. She captures that innocence of a weak woman who has been manipulated, but is somehow able to separate herself from the others, bringing a hidden strength of sorts to her character.

This was no doubt an intentional move by the director, but it could have come off extremely trite if done by another actress.

I also have to give a shout out to the other women cast as members of the commune. Several of their performances stood out, even if their characters did not have much to do or say. Pascale Montpetit and Julie La Rochelle, in particular, playing Marie-Claude and Suzette respectively, gave powerful performances as women who adored their children but still felt pulled to the man causing their despair.

In the end, Savage Messiah is a little gem of a film. Made on a very small budget, it is still able to tell a story effectively with amazing, believable performances.  As I was doing research, I learned that it was actually made for television, but was so popular it was released theatrically in Quebec, where it was again successful.

This is a testament to just how powerful a film can be, regardless of budget.