Although Erik Matti's movie is, on the face of it, about a get rich quick scheme that backfires in an epic and horrible way, the underlying theme of the film is really a not-so-hidden criticism of the Catholic church, and specifically its failure to get involved with anything that goes on in the church community that has nothing to do with actually bringing in money for the institution itself. Matti shows the church as an insular organization whose veneer of shepherding its flock to be consistently slipping.
The scheme has its roots within the church community, as the couple first target their friends from church as they roll out the moneymaking proposition. At first, they do not actually intend to con anyone, and like all Ponzi schemes it actually works quite well for everyone for a little while. The first investors make their money back as promised and everyone is happy. Like most Ponzi schemes, though, it quickly snowballs out of control. The schemers spend all the money that is made and very soon there is no money available to pay anyone back. There is more talk, more anger, and more need for the church to step in as the voice of reason and the arbiter of moral justice - but it doesn't. The Cardinal turns a blind eye to the Ponzi scheme and a deaf ear to the pleas of his parishioners, which is where the expectations and the needs of the church's community and the actions and intentions of the church begin to diverge significantly.
Rather than seeing the church as a moral backbone for the community, the Cardinal seems to view it as an event facility where like minded folk can gather and worship together if they want to. He provides the space, but does not seem willing to provide anything else; in fact, his main interest is in having the church provided for by the very people whose pleas for help he is ignoring. Understandably, the community starts to wonder exactly what it is that the Cardinal and the church really stand for, and they feel even angrier than they did before.
Vigilante justice ensues, and Matti also shows the way in which it can be completely understandable. The victims of the Ponzi scheme try to get their money back themselves. They turn to the church too - but when they are constantly ignored their anger and desperation collide, reaching a crescendo that results in the disappearance of Kaye's father after his home is ransacked in retaliation for the actions of his daughter and son-in-law. The film shows how the actions of law abiding people quickly result in lawlessness, and without some kind of moral rock, such as the church, to guide them, the community and its laws quickly unravel.
