The Staircase

Stairway to Heaven

The spiral staircase at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe,New Mexico,is legendary. The nuns of Loretto needed a staircase to protect their modesty-- for a time,all seemed hopeless. Then a stranger came,made the staircase,and mysteriously vanished. According to tradition, the man was St. Joseph himself. It turns out he was a reclusive French architect. "The Staircase" aims to demystify the legend,with less than mystifying results.

In "The Staircase",the made-for-TV movie starring Barbara Hershey as the mother superior,and William Petersen (before his CSI glory days) as the enigmatic carpenter,the story becomes turgid melodrama. The mother superior is arrogant,hates the Native Americans,and curses. She's self-righteous--until the mysterious man comes into her life. He gets preachy with her about being loving&compassionate. To make matters worse,he gets falsely arrested for murder (how CSI! Too bad the team wasn't on the case) The mother superior realizes she's dying from cancer;she better get right with God before the hereafter. In the end,the staircase is completed and she makes an agonizing (for her and the viewer) ascent up the staircase. Melodrama at its best. It's Black Narcissus set in New Mexico!

"The Staircase" isn't very inspiring. The characters are unsympathetic and one-dimensional. In "demystifying" the legend,it's the usual made-for-TV fare. "The Staircase" is turgid. If you're holding out for a hero,look elsewhere. April 29, 2008

Spiritual screenplay

This is one of my favorite movies. It is a drama based on a true story.It is a legendary story in Santa Fe New Mexico.There is a church there that was built in the early 1800's. The place for the choir was built on the second floor but the architect and the builder forgot to build a staircase to get to it!The Architect dies and leaves the nuns(Barbara Hershey)with a dilemma and no more money to fix it. When things couldn't get any worse Barbara Hershey's character finds out she is dying of cancer.All seems hopeless and after much prayer by the nuns a stranger (William Peterson)rides into the town.Challenged by their situation He agrees to help them build a staircase.The true story and quite a mystery is stranger didn't use one nail to make a spiral staircase that stands to this day.William Petersons character becomes good friends with Barbara Hershy and does more then just complete a church He also helps the nuns and other characters face their deepest wounds held in their souls by holding up a mirror of unconditional love and showing them there is a way out of their pain.By the end of the movie your left wondering who William Peterson character truely was.He didn't ask for compensation or recognition for the work, and when he finished, he slipped out of town quietly.I was thrilled to find it out on dvd. April 20, 2008

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