 Ellerbeck's children eventually persuade Birkin to preach a sermon at a nearby Methodist chapel.Birkin also forms an emotional, albeit unspoken, attachment to Alice Keach (Natasha Richardson), the young wife of the vicar.The vicar (Patrick Malahide) is portrayed unsympathetically as an obstruction to the work in the church, viewing the medieval painting as symptomatic of the superstition prevalent in the community.