Injustice exposed...

This is a brilliant film, based on truth, about a number of young women in Ireland who were sent to the Magdalene Sisterhood as punishment for their supposedly wicked ways. About 30,000 women in Ireland endured the slave labor of these laundries under the supervision of some very sadistic nuns who believed they were acting in the name of God. This practice was finally put to an end in 1996.

The film recounts the story of four women who were sent to the Sisterhood because of the Church's hysterical notions of female sexual behavior. One of the girls ends up there simply because she flirted with boys in her schoolyard.

The injustices of this practice are exposed by Peter Mullan's film in ways that highly offended the Catholic church. In fact, the church tried to have this film banned before its release. This is a scathing indictment, not on religion itself, but on what some organized religious institutions can become if they are mired in stagnation for decades, refusing to open their eyes to equality and kindness and humanity.

'The Magdalene Sisters' features fine performances from the entire cast, especially from Nora-Jane Noone in what amounts to the lead role of Bernadette. She is a new star on the big screen and will assuredly receive a ton of movie offers as a result of her performance here.

This is one of the best films of 2003. It is tough to watch the cruelty with which these young girls are treated. It is inspiring to watch their perseverance and determination as they rely on each other to overcome that cruelty.

© Written by TC Candler

How We Rated This Film TC Candler - A- Richard Propes - A- Jacob Hall -

Richard Propes' Comment

I have a confession regarding this film. I did not make it through the entire film upon my first viewing. While this is a graphic film, accurately depicting life inside the Magdalene Sisters Asylum in Ireland, it is not this graphic nature that caused me to stop viewing the film on my first try. Instead, it is the emotional intensity, the raw honesty and the vulnerability in the script and in the performances of the leads including Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duff and Ann-Marie Duffy that caused me to "take a break" and finish watching the film the next evening. Now, I am not resistant to watching films about abuse and find myself often attracted to the subject...somewhat due to my own childhood experiences and also due to my ongoing efforts at preventing abuse and my deep interest in the subject. This film, in my opinion, is one of the most honest, emotionally truthful and powerfully written films on the subject. It is not quite up to "The War Zone" in my opinion, but it does surpass recent films on the subject such as "Thirteen" and possibly even "Blue Car."

Jacob Hall's Comment

n/a