Mysterious Ways: A Feature Film Review

Co-written and directed by Paul Oremland, Mysterious Ways is, at the heart of everything, a love story. It’s the story of Peter (Richard Short), an Episcopalian vicar from England living in New Zealand, and his lover, Jason (Nick Afoa). Determined to reconcile his love for his partner and his love for God, Peter wants to get married in the church, which is just not allowed. 

The timing of Mysterious Ways is impeccable. During an era where legislators and religious organizations are weighing in on queer rights all around the globe, this film provides a considered perspective on the juxtaposing relationship one can have with organized religion, God, and queerness as a whole.  

Peter’s backstory is quite interesting. He was happily married, and he currently has an adult-aged child who was the product of that marriage. His wife died and then in the throws of his grief, Peter met Jason, who happened to be in prison at the time. Before this occurred, his queerness wasn’t something Peter ever really thought about. But then Jason fell into his life and it just made sense. And now that Peter has Jason, he wants him officially, in all the ways possible, and that includes committing to the man in front of God and all the people he loves. 

When Peter proposes this to the church, they vehemently reject his idea, but Peter doesn’t let that stop him. The media catches wind of his desires and the story blows up both domestically and internationally. Suddenly, Jason and Peter are at the center of a very tense public frenzy. Peter wants to use his position and this newfound attention to advocate for change within the church regarding the queer community. 

Jason, however, is not thrilled about being the poster boy for this campaign. He’s had a difficult life and he really just wants to lay low and live out his days with Peter in peace. He doesn’t have the same inner drive to take on the church that Peter does, and the whole thing sparks massive conflict between the lovers. 

Jason’s nephew arrives from Australia, like the guardian angel that they is, and does what they can to mend the rift that exists between the two men. Billy (Joe Folau) adds a cultural layer to Mysterious Ways in the form of Fa’afafine. It’s a Samoan tradition whereby those born into this role align with a third gender. For lack of a better word, Billy functions as gender fluid, but within the Samoan culture, it’s more sacred than that. Fa’afafine are not assigned a gender role at birth and are not raised as boys, nor girls. 

Billy’s nuanced character and their role within the film as a Fa’afafine adds interesting and relevant commentary to the social debate regarding gender circulating our contemporary society right now. The film’s promotion and adoration of this character as a gender-neutral person embodying an ancient cultural tradition serves to reinforce the notion that gender is a social construct, not one forged by science and biology. Billy tells everyone he is an angel sent to do divine work, and the role he plays in mending the hurt between Peter and Jason achieves just that. Peter and Jason work out their differences and Billy leaves again now that their work is done.

With the church and the queer community at such odds, the character of Peter is an interesting bridging point for the conversation. Peter is a man who believes in God, has enormous faith, and invests himself in the power of the church and its community. But he’s also a gay man – the very thing the church condemns as a sin – and he confidently believes he can have both. Peter believes there is space for the queer community within spaces of faith and despite his struggles to make that happen, his resolve on the matter never falters. 

Is there hope for more positive relationships to forge between these two groups of people in real life? Director Paul Oremland sat down to chat with us about this very issue, and the context this pulls from his movie. Mysterious Ways is a movie but it’s an interesting take on some very real-life issues that the queer community continues to grapple with in our modern society. 

Stay tuned for further information regarding the release of Mysterious Ways and how you can watch it and where.

---

Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured image: Image Courtesy of KLA Media Group.