Review of The Magdalene Sisters (2002) by Diana S — 02 Mar 2006

[color=white]Over the last few days, I?ve watched some films that made me grateful to be born in the time and place I am. [/color].

[color=white][b]To Have and Have Not[/b], while a classic, left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. The story is tense. The chemistry between Humphrey Bogart (?The Harder They Fall?) and Lauren Bacall (?Manderlay?) is undeniable. But it?s Earnest Hemingway?s To Have and Have Not, and I can feel that in the film. I am not a Hemingway fan. Though he didn?t write the screenplay, the female characters have his stench about them. Though Bacall enters the story on her own, Bogart immediately thinks he must take care of her, like she can?t help herself, despite her talents. And then the other female character, though married to another man, is very desperate, clingy and needy of Bogart?s attentions. It?s still a very good film.[/color].

[color=white]The [b]Magdalene Sisters[/b] was often painful to watch. The story follows three young Irish women who, because of various indiscretions, are sentenced by their families to a life of servitude in a laundry run by nuns. One girl reported to her family that she was raped. Another flirted with boys. And the other had a baby out of wedlock. These were their crimes. And for them, the women were sent to a horrible place where they are not allowed to speak to one another. Eat meager meals and work day in and day out washing, drying clothes. The nuns are abusive, physically and emotionally. And the only thing the women have to look forward to is death. Now for the depressing part: this was based on actual events. The DVD contains the documentary which inspired the feature, Sex in a Cold Climate. After watching the film, I couldn?t finish the documentary. It was too much. But the last laundry closed in 1996. Ten years ago. So up until the last decade, women were being punished for being sexual beings. [/color].

[color=white]And [b]North Country.[/b] Though not as good a film as Magdalene, it still made me thankful that I?m not subjected to vulgar comments and random groping when I go to work. The story follows the sexual harassment lawsuit in a Minnesota mining town in the 1980s. Again, not that long ago. Charlize Theron (?Aeon Flux?) stars as the woman bringing the deplorable working conditions to light. But she?s still not going to win the Oscar over Reece. [/color].