The Magdalene Sisters (2002)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Mark W

  
  Writer/Director Peter Mullan follows up his surreal and blackly humourous Scottish family drama "Orphans" with this hard-hitting account of the agonising and torturous true-story of the abuse of young women from Ireland in the name of religion. In 1960's, young women… More
  Writer/Director Peter Mullan follows up his surreal and blackly humourous Scottish family drama "Orphans" with this hard-hitting account of the agonising and torturous true-story of the abuse of young women from Ireland in the name of religion. In 1960's, young women where incarcerated in a Irish convent, run by the Catholic church, for committing such 'misdeeds' as flirting with boys, becoming pregnant out of wedlock, and being raped. They are physically and psychologically abused by the head nun and her sadistic staff, who are convinced they are doing the Lord's work. Having based his screenplay on actual Magdalene inmates' experiences, Mullan achieves an authenticity of what life was like for the young women that had to endure the injustices, humiliation and brutality of these asylums. At times it's very difficult to stomach, such is the sheer power and uncompromising telling of this harrowing story and it's full of overwhelmingly excellent performances. Geraldine McEwan as Sister Bridget, the head nun, gives one of the most absolute personifications of evil ever commited to the screen and Eileen Walsh is heart-breakingly compelling as the naive, downtrodden and religiously devoted Crispina. Her performance was worthy of so much more recognition than she recieved. Speaking of which, the entire cast and crew deserved more awards attention on it's release. Had this been directed by someone with a higher profile than Mullan and his crew, this film would have been hailed as a masterpiece. As it is, it's had to rely on word-of-mouth to find an audience but this doesn't lessen the effect or superb work by everyone involved here. Mullan's direction is flawless, the cinematography by Nigel Willoughby is stark, and almost de-saturated, adding to the overall feeling of desperation and loneliness of the women and as mentioned, the performances are perfectly pitched from a largely unknown cast. It may be hard for some to accept this behaviour went on but it's even harder to accept that these asylums lasted until 1996, when the last one was finally shut down. A harrowing and emotionally charged drama that while based on fact, is highly subversive. If the Vatican condemns a film on it's release (which it did with this) then there's no doubt that you're in for a hard-hitting film. Painful, provocative and important!

• Shauna R

  
  A powerful and unflinching drama from Peter Mullan that will inevitably fascinate yet distress viewers. The film covers an interesting yet terrible period in history, its well directed, engrosses the viewers from start to finish, contains top performances from all the young cast and a… More
  A powerful and unflinching drama from Peter Mullan that will inevitably fascinate yet distress viewers. The film covers an interesting yet terrible period in history, its well directed, engrosses the viewers from start to finish, contains top performances from all the young cast and a fierce portrayal from Geraldine McEwan. Essential viewing!

• Anthony L

  
  Sorry, I've got to say it but American film posters are f**king awful! It's just another example of a long list of films that are marketed by idiots who know nothing about the product. Rant over. The Magdalene Sisters is a harrowing film, it's brilliant but at the same… More
  Sorry, I've got to say it but American film posters are f**king awful! It's just another example of a long list of films that are marketed by idiots who know nothing about the product. Rant over. The Magdalene Sisters is a harrowing film, it's brilliant but at the same time you couldn't really claim to have enjoyed watching it unless you're psychotic or 'a bit wrong in the head'. The hardest thing to really grasp is how this ever happened and that the last correctional facility actually only closed just over 10 years ago! I'm an atheist and have anti-religious tendencies, do I respect people religious people, If I'm honest not really, chances are that if you're very religious, we aren't going to get along - that said, there are many good holy people in the world, I was bought up a catholic and was an alter boy. Our priest was one of the kindest (and funniest) guys I've ever met and it often hurts and annoys me when priests are constantly portrayed as paedophiles/sexual predators. This however, is based on true events, I'm not denying it doesn't happen, it's just a little tiring and very unfair I feel. Second rant over. The Magdalene Sisters is an excellent film, I was so impressed by Peter Mullan's direction of his earlier film, Orphans, and this just cements my views that he is just as good behind the camera as he is in front of it (His cameo is short but powerful). Eileen Walsh's performance was stand out for me but the whole cast put in strong performances, never once falling short of being utterly compelling. Highly recommended. More please Mr. Mullan!

• Lady D

  
  A brilliantly acted, very down to Earth story depicting realistic activities within the many of the asylums in Ireland during this era. Horrific circumstances that allows women to be treated as prisoners for shaming their families, whilst repenting their sins. The individual… More
  A brilliantly acted, very down to Earth story depicting realistic activities within the many of the asylums in Ireland during this era. Horrific circumstances that allows women to be treated as prisoners for shaming their families, whilst repenting their sins. The individual stories of each are tales within a tale and are a harsh reality reflected of the time, where pride is thicker than water! Hard hitting British Drama at it?s best.

• Randy T

  
  If you're like me you took one look at the movie poster (or DVD cover) and assumed that <i>The Magdalene Sisters</i> was a sexy Irish comedy or a romantic drama. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a film that's serious, tragic, and worst of all,… More
  If you're like me you took one look at the movie poster (or DVD cover) and assumed that <i>The Magdalene Sisters</i> was a sexy Irish comedy or a romantic drama. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a film that's serious, tragic, and worst of all, true. For many years the Catholic church of Ireland sanctioned 'asylums' for wayward girls called "Magdalene Laundries". They were, in fact, little more than sweat-shops that incarcerated women for such heinous criminal offenses as flirting with boys or 'allowing' themselves to be raped. This film is an indictment of those puritanical institutions that, surprisingly, were still active well into the 1990s.

• Arash X

  
  Sad & Shocking

• Kylie B

  
  Originally I pegged this as not being interested, but I don't know why as I freely chose to watch it, even over something more 'my thing'. It was far better than I could have imagined, and all I can say is that I'm glad those places don't exist anymore.

• Steve K

  
  Ought to be required viewing. The film made me so mad I had to go jog a mile and a half to work it off. Tragic and difficult to watch but very important.

• Lanning :

  
  Seen some not-so-appropriate cover art in my lifetime; this is a prime example. Not too much I can say after seeing something like this. Devastating. An amazingly outstanding cast. Highest of praise to Eileen Walsh as Crispina-Harriet and to Geraldine McEwan as Sister Bridget, one… More
  Seen some not-so-appropriate cover art in my lifetime; this is a prime example. Not too much I can say after seeing something like this. Devastating. An amazingly outstanding cast. Highest of praise to Eileen Walsh as Crispina-Harriet and to Geraldine McEwan as Sister Bridget, one of the most chilling villains in the history of film. Were any of the players in this nominated for an Academy Award? Freakin' unbelievable. <p> Can anyone confirm, yay or nay, whether Cary Elwes does a cameo in this?

• Nate Z

  
  [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7830/photo041yi.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]There's a certain genre of films as well-defined as say, the Western, Film Noir, or… More
  [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7830/photo041yi.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]There's a certain genre of films as well-defined as say, the Western, Film Noir, or even Romantic Comedies. The genre I’m speaking of is “I-can't-believe-that-happened cinema.” This is a genre made up of little-known true stories where people with power abuse those below them. These include films like Rosewood, Rabbit Proof Fence, Matewan, Mississippi Burning, and just about every movie with a Holocaust setting. These films are intended to antagonize the audience and to get them to ask, “How could something like this happen?” The Magdalene Sisters is a film that an audience will walk away with very much wondering how something so cruel, amoral, and heartless could carry on in our modern world.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]In 1960s Ireland, the Catholic Church was life. The Magdalene Sisters sheds light on the little known work asylums, which were institutions set up to help girls who had transgressed against God. The girls admitted to the asylum, a kind of extreme reform school, are there to work away their sins and reach forgiveness, thus saving their immortal souls. Rose (Dorothy Duffy) had a child out of wedlock. Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone) was caught by school officials for being too pretty and “tempting” teen boys. But perhaps the most startling admission is Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff), admitted to the asylum by her own father for the grievous “sin” of being raped by a cousin.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Magdalene Sisterhood asylum is run by Sister Bridget (Geraldine McEwan), an old nun who subscribes to the “cruel to be kind” theory in spades. The girls at the asylum toil tirelessly in sweatshop conditions, are physically abused by the nuns, sexually abused by the asylum’s priest and are left hopeless of escaping. Girls who run away are turned back in by their parents or cooperative police. Some of the women at Magdalene have been there for their entire lives. It seems the only ways out are death or joining the convent. Get thee to a nunnery indeed.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Magdalene Sisters is full of sadistic moments that will shock an audience. One of the most disturbing scenes transpires late into the film. The girls of the asylum line up completely nude, shivering and crying. Two nuns, with a nauseating smugness, chortle and play a “game” seeing who has the largest breasts and the smallest nipples, among other things. When the “winner” of this sick experiment stands forward and clenches her teeth from crying so hard, one of the nuns asks, “What are you crying for? It’s just a game.”[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The young ladies at the film’s core deliver magnificent performances tinged with honest emotional devastation. Noone is the standout as Bernadette. She utilizes steely rebellious gazes that speak volumes about her character’s resourcefulness. Noone can convey more poignant emotion in the raising of an eyebrow or the biting of her thumb than Tara Reid and her armada of bottle-blonde starlets can ever hope to express.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]McEwan is terrifying as the head nun and head source of torment. Her grandmotherly voice, tinted with an Irish brogue, is enough to send shivers down your spine. She is surely 2003's greatest movie villain, next to Johnny Depp in Once Upon a Time in Mexico.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Writer/director Peter Mullan keeps the suffering at an almost unbearable level, but allows the spark of human resistance to keep us going. His film is one brimming with anger and disbelief; ensuring the audience will experience that same burning anger before the credits roll. Mullan’s passionate story can be deemed one-sided, but then again, what exactly is the other side going to say about the abuse of innocent girls for life-long slave labor? Not much I suspect.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Magdalene Sisters is a somber, unflinching look at the abuses of the church as well as the upward battle for equality women faced. Ths film is tough to sit through. It might be too much for some, especially if they don't have a strong relationship with the Catholic church to begin with. The decades of abuse The Magdalene Sisters sheds light on is incredible, but it's also a beginning for healing. Before we can overcome atrocities we must acknowledge them, and this is something I'm sure Mullan is arguing that the Church is failing to do. In fact, the Catholic church has denounced The Magdalene Sisters for its portrayal of church abuses. Something tells me Mullan is not suprised.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Not only is The Magdalene Sisters an eye-opener, it's also great cinema. The characters, pacing, realistic sharp-eyed direction, and superb acting render it more than just a snuff film. This film is more than watching people mistreated and suffer; this is a film about perseverance and resolve. It's about the enduring human spirit. I'll gladly (well, not [i]gladly[/i]) watch sequences of misery in order to see human triumph. This isn't just a sad story, it's exceptionally well told and acted and it bathes you in the pain of its characters. You feel their heartbreak and tragedy, but you also feel their victory.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Magdalene Sisters is, without a doubt, the must-see feel-bad movie of this year. Now, there will be plenty out there saying, “Why should I pay to see a movie that will make me feel bad?” This is my defense: because the movie is so good at having its fears, tortures, and ultimate triumphs resonate that it makes you authentically feel something. And isn’t this the purpose of art, to feel [i]something[/i]?[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Magdalene Sisters is unflinching, passionately powerful and unforgettable. Just one more item to get your blood boiling: the last of these Sisterhood work asylum closed in 1996.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: A[/color][/font]

• Alec B

  
  Its no doubt a truthful film and its very well made with some great performances. My compliant is that film doesn't really give us a historical context as to when and why these horrible events are taking place. I wanted more exploration into why this type of environment in… More
  Its no doubt a truthful film and its very well made with some great performances. My compliant is that film doesn't really give us a historical context as to when and why these horrible events are taking place. I wanted more exploration into why this type of environment in Ireland existed for women for such a long time outside of just the Catholic Church practicing its usual brand of hypocrisy. The film is just an unending series of brutal events without really exploring the deep psychological undercurrents of what happened and why.

• Joey N

  
  Fascinating, gut churning look at a shameful period of Irish history. Brave, controversial, and clear eyed.

• Daisy M

  
  The Madgalene Sisters was based on true events in Ireland during the 60's. Three teenage girls were sent, against their will, for various reasons.The Magdalene Asylums, were run by the Catholic Church.These girls were treated as slaves and they should work in the laundries to… More
  The Madgalene Sisters was based on true events in Ireland during the 60's. Three teenage girls were sent, against their will, for various reasons.The Magdalene Asylums, were run by the Catholic Church.These girls were treated as slaves and they should work in the laundries to wash their sins and they were so badly treated by nuns who one could never imagine were working in the name of God.Horrible things have been done in the name of religion for as long as there have been religions.It was a sad and shocking movie, the acting was superb, the characters were so real, it was worth seeing.

• Erin C

  
  Very good movie, but horribly sad!

• John A

  
  'The Magdalene Sisters' is the harrowing tale of four girls trapped by their faith and circumstances into a world of punishment and sin. It was attacked by the Catholic League for being extremely anti-Catholic and theatrical, but director Peter Mullan doesn't so much… More
  'The Magdalene Sisters' is the harrowing tale of four girls trapped by their faith and circumstances into a world of punishment and sin. It was attacked by the Catholic League for being extremely anti-Catholic and theatrical, but director Peter Mullan doesn't so much attack the religion as the contextualised institutions themselves. Some true life inmates have even reported the film barely touches the horrific reality of the Magdalene asylums. Mullan humanises the victims with the partially fictionalised stories of three girls; Margaret, Bernadette and Rose. Their apparent 'crimes' against God cast shame and embarassment on families, and lead to their virtual imprisonment in one of the Magdalene laundries. The place brims with sadism, hypocrisy and physical and mental torture. This is the kind of film where a review is near pointless; words like 'unflinching' and 'disturbing' can be thrown about, but only felt to the bone through naked viewing. Mullan's understated direction summons a chilling atmosphere, layered with the girls desperation to find solace and hope that they will be rescued. But the Sisters of the laundry run a tyrannical regime, and several scenes show with a natural horror the cruel ruthlessness in which the nuns would embarass, shame and punish these young women. Many had done little wrong, but were told they needed saving; even thinking sinful thoughts would close the gates of Heaven to them for eternity. The tension of Margaret's stealthy escape sequence immediately dissapates when she realises, in a moment, she has nowhere to go. The walls may block her physical escape, but the order of the Sisters ensures she would be shunned by the outside world. The tale culiminates with the melancholy story of fellow inmate Crispina, who suffers from a mental disability. Bernadette gets through the days by enforcing explicit rebellion; Rose, shy and unsure, is meekly obedient. Margaret, on the other hand, is a fighter for justice, and works hard to look after Crispina during her stay. Unfortunately, while the three main story threads are tinged with a final note of hope, Crispina suffers a far worse fate. Geraldine McEwan's performance as Mother Superior is one of frightening ferocity, but the lack of balance is Mullan's flaw; the script offers little insight into her mind, and whether she truly believes what she is doing will save the souls of these forsaken girls. With no perspective to work from McEwan still rivets in her one-trick-pony role, but the film suffers for it's narrowed vision. Yet 'The Magdalene Sisters' is certainly a compelling and necessary motion picture; the corruption of authority is an issue that can never be addressed too often, and according to accounts the heads of the Irish Catholic Church did little to help the plight and suffering of these girls. Learning the last laundry closed in 1996 is a shocking revelation to modern society, and a sad testament to those Sisters who refused to move along with the times.

• Emily B

  
  Heartbreaking stuff.

• Dimitris S

  
  Bloody brilliant,we might not have the likes of a traditionally based director but Mullan is ecstatic with his work,religiously blasphemous and condemning in an underlying,pious way the conservative real methods of those damn nuns.All of the young girls' cast is amazing!

• Sunil J

  
  This movie was rough but phenomenal.

• Barry L

  
  At least its not little boys.......

• Laurence C

  
  Poignant, compelling and unforgettable. I'm left speechless.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings