“I’m going to kill myself. On my birthday. And I’m Aries, Father, so I don’t have a lot of time.” That is the core quote that the movie Into Temptation circles. Cynical Catholic Priest Father John Buerlein (Jeremy Sisto) finds himself the recipient of this unexpected suicidal confession from a call-girl (Kristin Chenoweth) who quickly disappears. Left with the knowledge that she might actually follow through in committing suicide, Father John goes out of his way to try and save her. The idea of a Priest hunting down a prostitute to save her immortal soul might sound like the plot-line for a so-so comedy that could be easily skipped. On paper, the idea didn’t sound entirely intriguing to me, but the movie occupied my interest for its entire running time (even the song playing over the end credits was distinctive and cool). Writer-director Patrick Coyle has made Into Temptation more than just appealing – it’s profoundly re-watchable.

Jeremy Sisto (who I shamefully always recognize best as the Cranberries-loving Elton from Clueless) plays a priest who is also a flawed, modern man (even so much as accidentally swearing on the pulpit). He’s the version of a Priest you wouldn’t be overly intimidated by and the kind of sympathetic person you crave as a player in your real life. Sisto’s well-crafted acting makes it easy to feel generously patient towards this character as he pulls you into his decidedly complicated mindset (for example: he has a moral compass, but he also cannot break the seals of the Catholic church by going to the cops with what he knows).

Kristin Chenoweth

In the other leading role, we have the petite and normally perky Kristin Chenoweth. She’s an actress I associate with her bright, bubbly, singing roles (Wicked, Glee, Pushing Daisies). You don’t look at Chenoweth and see “call-girl” unless you’re a weird, pervy sort of person who could also picture Mother Theresa as one. Chenoweth is the wholesome sort! I could more easily see her trying to sell me whole-wheat breakfast cereal than walking the streets as a working girl. For this reason, she absolutely could not have taken a more dramatic turn than choosing to play this character. I did not think I would find her believable as a prostitute without some sort of comedy angle, but once she’s on the screen, I stopped my questioning. For the entire movie, she evaporates into this character, and the amazing thing about Chenoweth and Sisto is that, from the start of the movie, you will feel invested in their characters’ connection, even though they share minimal screen-time.

Jeremy Sisto

One of the supporting actors of the movie is Brian Baumgartner, who is instantly visually recognizable as Kevin from The Office. I note only that he is “visually” recognizable because otherwise he completely surprised me in his sincere and witty portrayal as a Priest (I had to ker-blink to check if it was really him). Never having seen Baumgartner act in anything else memorable, I had no idea how much he transforms himself when playing Kevin. The character that Baumgartner plays in Into Temptation is so fleshed-out and intriguing that I would have loved to also watch an entire movie just about him or the friendship between him and Father John.

When it comes to fleshed-out characters, it’s not often, in a movie, that the background roles seem more than one-dimensional, but something I especially loved about Into Temptation was that every small/supporting part seemed to have been cast with the dearest of care. This makes the movie really feel alive as you move through this world that you’re vicariously investigating.

This indie drama is unexpectedly hopeful in unpredictable ways. Not once did I feel like I could pause the movie and walk away. Nothing could be made clearer from the ending of this movie than the idea that every little thing you do matters, and what you do is really who you are. The unconscious behavior that manifests in your tiniest actions does have consequences. For all of those reasons, that is why I’d tell anyone that this is a hopeful movie. Into Temptation left me with a greater appreciation for the potential power in our personal control.