The story of Dorothy Day, a remarkable woman who became one of the most influential human rights activists of the 20th century. Day defied social and political conventions in her quest for self-fulfillment in New York's bohemian Greenwich Village during the explosive era of the 1920s and '30s. She engaged in unconventional love affairs, boisterous barroom debates with such friends as Eugene O'Neill and Floyd Dell, and led radical demonstrations against social injustice. Surrounded by affluence, she chose to live in poverty among the poor of the Lower East Side. Deeply moved by the destitution and injustices around her, she underwent a powerful change and became a voice for the voiceless, a soldier for justice and a champion of non-violence.
Directed by
Michael Ray Rhodes
Written by
John Wells
Starring
Moira Kelly (Dorothy Day); Martin Sheen (Peter Maurin); Lenny von Dohlen (Forster Batterham); Melinda Dillon (Sister Aloysius); Paul Lieber (Mike Gold); Heather Graham (Maggie Bowen); Boyd Kestner (Lionel Moise); James Lancaster (Eugene O'Neill); Geoffrey Blake (Floyd Dell); Brian Keith (Cardinal); Heather Camille (Tamar); Thom Adcox-Hernandez (Dan Irwin); David Berón (John); Pamela Shafer (Tesse); Allyce Beasley (Frankie). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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An Inspiring Story of a Catholic Lay-person
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
'Entertaining Angels...' is something of a rarity in focussing on a Catholic lay person and her charitable acts. For me, the thing that stood out as being most memorable from Dorothy Day's life was her previous 'racy' lifestyle and her subsequent acceptance into the Catholic Church without judgement from her fellow faithful (though I don't doubt that not all accepted her previous life so unconditionally). I also took strong messages with respect to relying on God's providence to do God's work; so often in the film Dorothy goes back to the jar of savings and empties it out completely - yet never, that we know of, being unable to pay the bills. With respect to the artistic and technical merits of the film I was pleasantly surprised; the acting was of a high standard, the script kept a good pace and the general direction and cinematography were all highly commendable. If I have one criticism it is that the film didn't go quite deep enough into Dorothy's life to make this a classic biopic - though perhaps on the budget (and thus time-constraint given) this was not an option. Regardless, this is still an inspiring film that I recommended all Catholics see at least once.