Review of The Magdalene Sisters (2002) by Sam I — 30 Dec 2006

The Magdalene asylums were where 'sinful' young women were sent to have their behaviour corrected. There were many of these places in Ireland, the last only closing in 1996. The Magdalene Sisters shows them as places where the girls were made to work (in the laundry) and live in appalling conditions and under the constant threat of severe punishment from the nuns who ran the asylum for even the smallest contravention of the rules.

The Magdalene Sisters uses the stories of four girls to tell the story of the asylums. Margret (Duff) is sent after being raped by her cousin, Bernadette (Noone) is sent after being seen flirting with some boys across the wall of the orphange she lives in. The other two main girls, Crispina (Walsh) and Patricia/Rose (Duffy) both end up in the asylum after having children out of wedlock.

The other main role in the film is taken by Geraldine McEwan as Sister Bridget, the sister in charge at the asylum.

These five performers are the greatest asset of the film. Mullan took a big risk in casting four complete unkonwns in the lead roles but it is a gamble that pays off in spades, not only beacase the four girls are all outstanding in their roles, but because their unkown status allows us to buy into the reality of the situation, rather than look at it as a performance. Each of the four girls have their stand out moments but there are two, both focused on Walsh, that have really stuck in my mind. The first is during a mass nude scene where two of the nuns are making a 'competition' of their cruel observations of the girls bodies and Walsh's breakdown when she is told she has 'won' is something that will stay in the audiences mind for a long time. Equally memorable and, in its own way, horrific is her seemeingly endless screaming of the words 'you're not a man of god' to a priest who has been taking advantage of her.

Geraldine McEwan is also outstanding as Sister Bridget, creating a villain who is not simply a monster but believeably evil. This comes through best not in the moments she is beating or punishing girls (which she does frequently) but in her comforting bedside manner with Walsh after the 'not a man of god' moment and other quieter moments.

Peter Mullan, despite being on only his second film as director, seems to have a great eye as there are some very beautiful shots in the film. The stand out moment for me was a seemingly Clockers influenced shot of Bernadette's eye, covered in blood from her latest punishment, with Sister Bridget reflected in it. As Mullan observes in his commentary 'it's not subtle' but, damn, it is effective.

I hope the inexperienced cast continues to work (as of writing Duff is in Shameless, the best drama on TV right now and Noone in Neil Marshall's The Descent, I'd love to see them all in more roles and I'm very much looking forward to seeing Mullan's debut film Orphans and whatever he chooses to make next.