The Second Coming

The contrast between some British and American treatments of religious topics is amply demonstrated in director Adrian Shergold's television miniseries The Second Coming. When the subject was recently tackled on this side of the Atlantic, the result was a crushingly uplifting fable called Joshua, in which Tony Goldwyn played a charismatic young stranger who brought peace and love to a small southern town and eventually traveled to Rome to instruct the pope on his duties. In this English take on the same premise, an ordinary, working class Yorkshire man (Christopher Eccleston) abruptly realizes that he's the Son of God and performs miracles to prove it. But rather than solve the world's problems, he challenges humankind to write a third testament to be added to the current Bible within five days or face Armageddon, sparking a bit of a panic that is aided and abetted by the forces of evil. The Second Coming isn't always coherent, especially toward the close, but it does offer up a provocative and compelling portrait of a man whose human brain is straining to cope with all the information conferred on him by sudden divinity. Recommended, with the caveat that some believers will certainly be offended by the film's ultimate take on religion. [Note: DVD extras include a selection of deleted scenes and outtakes, as well as a commentary track by writer Russell T. Davies and director Adrian Shergold. Bottom line: a small but decent extras package for an engaging miniseries.] (F. Swietek)