The Magdalene Sisters
Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their sinful behavior: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a premarital child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishment.
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- Cast：
- Anne-Marie Duff , Nora-Jane Noone , Geraldine McEwan , Eileen Walsh , Mary Murray , Eamonn Owens , Peter Mullan
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Reviews
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Going into this film I was expecting a pretty bland drama that I could plop along to. To my surprise, The Magdalene Sisters proves to be much better than your standard redemption drama. Whether it is the compelling characters or the story, The Magdalene Sisters managed to have me gripped to the chair and truly engage in the story (something I have not done in many years).Everyone in this film has a distinct character; love them or hate them. The true hell of these asylums is portrayed so well that by the end of the film you just pray that people will never do anyone such injustice again. One of the great films of the 21st century.
After having read the reviews on here, I was expecting to see something like "Irreversible" times 10; a lot of the users on here exaggerated the animosity of the nuns as portrayed in the film. There are many elements within the convent that can really irate someone and the fact that it is a true story is even more infuriating. The acting is very good, the women in the film act out their anger and desperation very well, as do the nuns their sadistic nature. However, make no mistake: this is not a violent film, despite what you might have read in the other reviews. On the contrary, it leaves a lot to the imagination, apart from a few scenes. Like "In the name of the father" this film made me want to jump in the screen and smash the nuns' teeth in. Overall, a very good film.
I agree with the previous reviewer that said if you can't handle a "mind- blank" then don't watch this. All of the character stories hit on every "biggest fear" you could have. All of the stories are HEARTBREAKING. Having been brought up Catholic this is, by far and away, the most disturbing and heartbreaking film I have EVER seen. I literally cried all the way through it. I don't care how many shiny new Popes this church comes up with,this (and the other abuse of it's members/member's children) STILL HAPPENED. This is a very, very well made movie; however, it is NOT easy to watch and will stick with you a LONG time.
As already well noted, this is a very well crafted film that captures and portrays some of the lowest possibilities of human endeavour. The movie has it's flaws, but drawing empathy from the viewer is not one of them and this it does so well that I was emotionally exhausted by the end of it.The religious dimension of the film is an interesting one. Clearly people wanting opportunity for anti-Catholic or anti-religious diatribe would find plenty of fuel here, but I think the more reasonable viewer (religious or not) would see the issues raised for what they are - a perversion and distortion of Christian faith perpetuated and maintained by flawed institutional systems. In this vein, it's not necessarily an anti-religious film and not even anti-establishment as such, but it does show a terrible side of those things and, moreover, illustrate how human beings can take any ideology, belief system etc. and turn it to meet their own personal sadistic and evil ends.A sad and horrible film and one that reminds us all of what not do to, how not to treat people and how we should be ever vigilant as a society against evil and cruelty no matter the guise it takes.
