Magdalene Sisters (2002)

Hell is other people. That swings both ways to true believers with power as sinners surround them and so they must correct the behavior how they see fit. Often those true believers with power believe they are given dominion because they are special, unique, or worthy. The truth of the matter is all power is given and can be taken away to the kind and cruel alike.

     For over two hundred years, the Magdalene laundries in Ireland operated by taking in young women deemed to have loose morals. The women were slave labor in the laundries, often run by the Catholic church but with state sanction, only released by death or the signatures of two adult men. It was not until the 1990s when mass graves were discovered that anyone looked into these places. Untold horrors, including beatings, humiliation, and starvation, went on by the operators of these institutions. As of 2022, the Irish government has set up a fund for survivors while the religious orders who operated the laundries have declined to support the fund.

     I say all this history as a background for the Magdalene Sisters, a movie that covers the lives of several women in this system. Our main characters are Margaret, Rose, and Bernadette, three young women who are sent to the laundries in the 1960s because they were either raped, gave birth out of wedlock, or attracted the attention of boys. They are tortured by the nuns, either directly through beatings and humiliation or systemically by being viewed as less than human. A harrowing film about an important topic.

     To that point, even if I had problems with the acting, direction, style, or anything else in the movie, I would recommend it. It shines a light on an important topic that deserves to be remembered and memorialized. Very thankfully, this is a masterful film that rises above its theme to become art. Through minimalist storytelling, we see the abuse the powerful inflict. The film feels simple, direct, and honest while also containing turmoil and deception for its cast of characters. 

     Each woman depicted here is bringing life and devastation. Dorothy Duffy and Anne-Marie Duff exude quiet strength and resilience after being forced into the situation by their families. Nora-Jane Noone arcs from rebellious to anarchic, showing the hardening that can take place, her signature line being "hurry up and die." Eileen Walsh stands above as the poor soul who pretended to keep up a happy face while being broken in body, spirit, and mind as each of her pillars of sanity are stripped from her, finally breaking while shouting "You're not a man of God." Geraldine McEwan as the Nurse Ratchett style head nun who finds joy in the pain and suffering of the girls should be on most all time villain roles list if that villain-type was not so well used.

     Along with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Schindler's List, this film should be on your list of "important but hard to watch."