The Magdalene Sisters

Name: The Magdalene Sisters
Genre: Drama
Released: August 1, 2003
Duration: 119 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Anne-Marie Duff, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh, Nora-Jane Noone

2003

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 38 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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The Magdalene Sisters

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Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: August 1, 2003 | R

Starring: Anne-Marie Duff, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh, Nora-Jane Noone

Summary: An unflinching and compelling emotional drama, charting several years in the young lives of four "fallen woman" who were rejected by their families and abandoned to the mercy of the Catholic Church in 1960's Ireland. (Miramax Films)

Director: Peter Mullan

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 119 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

David Sterritt

A pungent, powerful film that points an accusing finger not at religious beliefs but at flawed human institutions. It also targets social and cultural mores that are almost medieval in their patriarchal bias against girls and women. Read full review

100

K.J. Doughton

Although this ain't Hogwarts, there's full-scale witchery being practiced behind Magdalene's locked doors. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Graced with performers who bring a purity of emotion to their work, the film is always dramatically convincing. There is a fundamental air of truth about it, a sense that, horrific though things seem, this is how it must have been. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Its brutal take on living under totalitarian rule periodically suggests Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four." Mullan makes the authority figures (such as the nun played by Geraldine McEwan) grimly believable, but as in "Orphans," there are times when he doesn't know when to quit. Read full review

Scott Foundas

Grim, grueling and triumphantly powerful. Read full review

James Berardinelli

A disturbing and compelling motion picture that depicts the forces that try to suppress the human spirit, and the strength of these girls in overcoming it. Read full review

Mark Sells

Though it has a tendency to leave characters undeveloped and storylines empty, the overall portrait is significant. Read full review

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User Reviews

SarahO.

Jul 22, 2006

I was shocked at the abuse that went on in this movie but its one of the best movies I've ever seen.Acting was nothing short then superb and well done to Peter Mullan. Excellent movie!

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chunt

Oct 6, 2005

Excellent film- made better by using unknowns....excellent acting....makes me embarassed to be a Catholic....and they did not close until 1998!

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Christopher_G2

Jun 20, 2016

"The Magdalene Sisters", directed by Peter Mullan centers on four girls—Margaret, Bernadette, Rose, and Crispina, played respectively by Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, and Eileen Walsh—who in puritanical mid-20th century Ireland are, after certain so-called sinful"The Magdalene Sisters", directed by Peter Mullan centers on four girls—Margaret, Bernadette, Rose, and Crispina, played respectively by Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, and Eileen Walsh—who in puritanical mid-20th century Ireland are, after certain so-called sinful indiscretions causing the rejection of their families, sent to a strict Catholic reformatory. Also very much should be noted is the role of the head at this place, the very strict twisted Sister Bridget played by Geraldine McEwan. The performances by Walsh and McEwan deserve particular mention, one a kind and unbalanced victim, the other as deliberate, cold victimizer.

“Fallen women” they are supposed to be, but I certainly never saw them as any more than victims of high-and-mighty, ignorant, and often sadistic attempts to take anyone who dare stray the least from societies way (even if may be no fault of their own, as in at least one of the cases) and put them in their place. The stuff found within this movie, disturbing and sometimes strange as it is, and though we’re talking about only the mid-20th Century, historically not that long ago, never came off as the least bit unbelievable to me. It forces one to look at these tough images, never making it easy in the discipline and punishments imposed by the institution. Even one comical scene of apparent levity turns suddenly into a most disquieting unjust sequence for one of the characters. It’s a place where one often needs to fend for themselves, and can even encourage them to turn on each other. Painful as it is, there is some hope as well. I highly recommend this film.… Expand

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JLuis_001

Jul 4, 2021

In my opinion it does not expose the whole context, and the context is very important in cases like these, since the film provides the real villain, and it's heartbreakingly believable, but it fails to accuse the society that used the church to get rid of its ''undesirable''

Still a reallyIn my opinion it does not expose the whole context, and the context is very important in cases like these, since the film provides the real villain, and it's heartbreakingly believable, but it fails to accuse the society that used the church to get rid of its ''undesirable''

Still a really good film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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