Satire Sharp Enough to Make You Flinch

MOVIE REVIEW
Heavens Above! (Blu-ray)
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Genre: Comedy, Satire
Year Released: 1963, Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2025
Runtime: 1h 58m
Director(s): John Boulting, Roy Boulting
Writer(s): Frank Harvey, John Boulting, Malcolm Muggeridge
Cast: Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Isabel Jeans, Eric Sykes, Bernard Miles, Ian Carmichael, Irene Handl, Roy Kinnear
Where to Watch: Available April 15, 2025. Order your copy here: www.kinolorber.com or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: Mistaken identity starts a chain reaction in one of post-war British cinema's most unusual satirical works. At first glance, it might seem like another light-hearted jab at the quirks of British society. However, what unfolds is an unnerving commentary on how communities react when someone truly decides to practice what institutions merely preach. The comedy is sharp, the discomfort even sharper, resulting in a social critique that remains disturbingly relevant.

At the center of the narrative is Reverend John Smallwood, a well-meaning prison chaplain mistakenly assigned to a well-to-do parish in a picturesque English town. The simple clerical error mix-up becomes a launching pad for an all-out ideological collision. This is not your average fish-out-of-water story. Smallwood isn’t bumbling or unaware; he’s principled and unwavering, which makes him far more disruptive than endearing to the locals who like their religion ceremonial, not confrontational.

Smallwood's arrival threatens the delicate balance maintained by Orbiston Parva’s economic and spiritual leaders. The town, dominated by a tranquilizer-manufacturing conglomerate, is a neat little microcosm of capitalist contentment. It operates under the pretense of morality, but it's tightly bound to the economic influence of the Despard family, who essentially dictate commerce and congregation. When Smallwood starts implementing actual acts of charity—like giving shelter to the homeless or appointing someone of a different race and class to a position of visibility—it doesn’t feel like a bold gesture. It feels like a threat.

The satire lands hard not because it’s mocking institutions but because it shows how quickly they recoil when someone interprets their teachings. A lesser story might paint the town as cartoon villains, but the real sting comes from how polite and dignified the resistance is here. That genteel demeanor only thinly veils the discomfort and fury bubbling underneath. The film doesn’t offer the audience an easy place to land. Nobody is idealized. Those receiving help aren't glorified saints either—they’re flawed, messy, and sometimes outright opportunistic. That ambiguity is deliberate, elevating the material above simplistic good-versus-evil storytelling.

Peter Sellers, often known for his larger-than-life comedic characters, dials everything back here. His portrayal of Smallwood is honest and still, almost unsettling in its calm. The performance anchors the film, not by commanding attention, but by refusing to bend. It’s a quiet rebellion, and Sellers pulls it off with remarkable control. There’s a weight to his optimism—less like naïveté and more like defiance. His goodness isn’t performative, and the film uses that to reflect how truly threatening selflessness becomes in a community built on managed charity and selective morality.

There are lighter moments, but the laughs often land with a thud, closer to absurdist irony than levity. Much of the humor is situational, built around awkward juxtapositions and the increasingly ridiculous lengths the community goes to to rid themselves of their inconvenient vicar. The script knows it’s funny—but more importantly, uncomfortable. It’s the kind of humor that stings a little because it reveals truths we’d rather laugh off than confront.

The messiness of that ending might reflect something deeper: a discomfort with resolving a narrative built around principles no one wants to live by. Maybe there isn’t a clean conclusion. Perhaps the point is that a community built on appearance rather than conviction can’t accommodate someone who believes in justice and grace. And maybe the awkward finish is what lingers—because it echoes reality more than any tidy resolution could.

Ultimately, the power of this film lies in its brutal honesty. It forces the audience to look at how society treats those who challenge it not with violence or rebellion but with compassion. It’s not about whether kindness is good or bad—it’s about what happens when kindness becomes inconvenient. Sellers doesn’t play a martyr or a messiah; he plays a man who stubbornly believes that people should live what they preach. And in a world designed to reward compromise and punish sincerity, that belief is revolutionary.

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[photo courtesy of KINO LORBER]

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