Review of Novitiate (2017) by Evana H — 20 Jul 2018

I would have given this movie a full 5 stars were it not for the (albeit beautiful) music drowning out some of the dialogue in the movie. Also, the ending came too soon considering the unabated angst of some of the characters.

Even so, Novitiate was an excellent movie in almost all other aspects. All of the actors delivered outstanding performances. Melissa Leo as the Reverend Mother fit the prototype of many of the Catholic nuns who taught me as a child going to an enormous diocesian school in the time frame depicted in the movie. As it turns out, despite the changes engendered by Vatican II, many teaching nuns continued to rule their classrooms in the punitive manner depicted in the movie.

All in all, this movie was excellent; I only wish it had been longer.