Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne star in this supernatural horror. When it comes to God, Pittsburgh hairdresser Frankie Paige (Arquette) is a firm non-believer. However, after receiving some rosary beads as a gift, Frankie begins suffering from stigmata - bleeding wounds on her hands correlating with those suffered by Christ on the cross. Father Andrew Kiernan (Byrne) is sent to investigate by the Vatican, and although initially dismissive, he gradually begins to realize that Frankie is carrying an important message for mankind. However, Kiernan's corrupt superior, Cardinal Houseman (Jonathan Pryce), wants Frankie's message stopped, and is prepared to resort to extreme lengths to achieve his aims.

Gabriel Byrne plays Father Kiernan, a young Jesuit priest whose degree in chemistry makes him a sort of priest/detective as he investigates weeping Marys and the like around the world. Meanwhile, Frankie (Patricia Arquette), a rave-generation Pittsburgher, is afflicted with the stigmata--holes that appear in her wrists, resembling the wounds of Christ. The young woman's symptoms filter back to the Vatican and Father Kiernan is assigned to the case.

The priest is puzzled by Frankie's atheism; usually, the stigmata only appear on the devout (hence the age-old controversy of miracles vs. hysteria). Other manifestations appear on Frankie, and the priest's cardinal (Jonathan Pryce) is brought in, leading to political maneuvering within the Church hierarchy. The film owes a large and obvious debt to The Exorcist (at one point, Frankie's bed scoots across the room and she levitates into a crucifix position) but to term it an Exorcist rip-off would be to short-change Stigmata.

The premise and screenplay are more cerebral than in the l973 film, and the source of the phenomenon is coming from a completely different place. Unfortunately, amid Stigmata's high-octane editing and slick technique, the chills of The Exorcist aren't there, giving the movie a sort of identity crisis: horror movie or intellectual thriller? Several elements of the film challenge basic tenets of the Catholic faith, hence the brief furor that erupted at the time of the film's release; if nothing else, the internal workings of the Church are shown in a very unflattering light indeed.

Byrne excels as the skeptical priest, as does Arquette as the tortured young woman. All told, Stigmata is a rather uneven effort but one with a thought-provoking combination of theology and thrills served up in a thoroughly modern, stylish package. Fans of TV's Ally McBeal will recognize Portia De Rossi in a supporting role. --Jerry Renshaw.