Steineded How sad is this?

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

mshavzin I can't help believing that every time they make a story based on these four recollections of these four girls in Ireland it gets even more exaggerated. I am sure that it was rough and everything, but admittedly the vast number of girls that went into the Magdalene system made it out alive, and every single one of those young women were sent there by their families, so they probably weren't exactly great daughters at the very least. I just think the whole exaggeration of their suffering is getting old.

lasttimeisaw Scotland-born triple-threat (director, writer and actor) Peter Mullan's Venice GOLDEN LION champion, his second directorial endeavor, THE MAGDALENE SISTERS is a scathing exposé charts the story of three "fallen" girls' harrowing experiences in the notorious Magdalene Asylum in the 60s Ireland, where Roman Catholic church reigns with draconian measures to suppress women under the name of redeeming their sins.Before its title card duly arrives, the film briefly introduces the sins of our three protagonists, Margaret (Duff), is raped by her cousin during a family wedding, Bernadette (No one), an adolescent orphan deemed as a temptress simply because she flirts with a bunch of hormone- driven lads, and Rose (Duffy), a girl has just borne an out-of-wedlock infant. So burdened with these egregious injustice, they are sent to the asylum by their parents or caretakers, which is in fact a laundry run by nuns and governed by Sister Bridget (McEwan) with high-handed cruelty, in her first appearance Mullan conspicuously implies that God is definitely not her priority.Different personalities of these three girls are soberly singled out in their following dark days: Bernadette, the young rebellious one, learns a hard lesson after a failed escape plan, botched in the eleventh hour by her craven accomplice, a man of course, and becomes more cynical to her fellow inmates hereafter, No one, a headstrong starlet strikes with a piquant weight of strength and endurance; Margaret, is more flexible and sagacious among the gals, bears patiently her sufferings in exchange for a triumphant exit, and Duff nails her heroic facade wonderfully, she is the one, who voluntarily gives up a golden chance of escaping, and pulls through her trails and tribulations with a heartfelt declamation when she can face the God's men and challenge their muted consent of such atrocity; Duffy, uncannily resembles a young Joanne Woodward, her Rose is the meek sheep among the crop, offers a more subdued presence of forbearance and motherly nature.There is another victim here in the spotlight, whose fate is manifestly far less fortunate, to countervail the aforementioned three's ultimate salvation from the pit, Eileen Walsh plays Crispina, a mentally unstable unmarried mother, whose bob hairstyle doesn't match her bucktoothed features, but what happens to her encapsulates the appalling and despicable crimes those clergymen and nuns can ever inflicted on innocent souls under the aegis of the supremacy of God, no religion can ever account for those kinds of transgressions. Walsh courageously transforms a stunning performance out of Eileen's misery, her repeated, plangent bellow of truth is soul- shattering to say the least. Last but definitely not the least, the veteran British thespian, Geraldine McEwan, whose cinematic offerings are not so frequent, but here, she devotes herself wholeheartedly to bring about a daunting impersonation of an evil nun, driven by the monetary income, she is merciless to harness those helpless women while maintaining a holy-than-thou face of authority and patronization, only in the heightened crunch, her instinct tellingly betrays that there is something more important to her than her piousness to God.Overall, this clammy, unadorned survival drama is a gripping nay-sayer of God-awful religious abuse in our recent history, Mullan, most of the time, holds his sway over the thorny subject matter and never descends to levity, only in the scenes of Bernadette and Rose's final attempt to break out of their imprisonment, Mullan slickly transmits a whiff of comedy and triumphalism into their act, which works well to purvey an uplifting coda, yet, in another instance, two nuns obnoxiously tease about the sizes of their prisoners' breasts and their public hair, is just too nauseating to concur with Mullan's relentless opprobrium, nevertheless, this well-orchestrated film again emphatically attests the same old maxim: real life is so much worse than what happens in a movie.

Danii Disaster I'm not going to act like a smarta** (like many of the other reviewers) attempting to rationalize the views and beliefs of the 19th century Irish and the influence of Catolicism on the society back then. Instead, I'm going to share my impressions of it, speaking as a casual observer: The first thing that comes to mind is... "What the f***!?" I mean, girls, can you imagine being sent to a place like The Magdalene Sisters for, erm, being pretty, flirting with guys, or being a single mother? No, really - WTF? It seems utterly ridiculous and inconceivable. What about your family disowning you and selling you into slavery if some bastard molested you? I guess if such twisted pseudo-religious extremism was in place today, 95% of today's' women would have to be confined to an asylum.I was quite bothered by the fact that Margaret's family chose to send her off to that awful place (after she was brutally raped by her cousin), instead of calling the rapist to justice and helping their daughter cope with the crime she fell victim to. I don't know what kind of religion condones rape, and, to add insult to injury, considers the *victim* a sinner. I can't imagine how brainwashed and f***ed up people back then must've been. A teenage girl is taken advantage of, yet SHE is the one being punished and getting disowned by her family, while the perpetrator (the rapist) just gets away with it and goes on as if nothing had happened. Where is the logic behind this, and what holy book preaches such "morals"? And Bernadette? She is confined to the asylum merely for the fact that she is moderately attractive and extroverted. This is just totally out of order, seriously.Speaking of Bernadette... she was, obviously, the highlight of the movie. I only wish she would've hit one of the despicable nuns as she and Rose (Patricia) were escaping.I also liked Anne-Marie Duff - the actress has a certain je ne sais quoi.The most tragic of all was certainly Crispina. It was clear from the start that she's not like the other girls - she's already broken beyond repair and her mental health issues are irreversible. It's no surprise that she perished at 24... and of anorexia! How sad indeed...The Magdalene Sisters asylum seemed like a devilish concentration camp rather than a religious organization. I don't think there was ever anything remotely "Godly" about an institution like that. Moreover, real-life survivors have reported that the conditions were actually much worse compared to those portrayed in the movie. Oh, the horror! It's an excellent movie, though. They couldn't have picked a better cast. I can't imagine anyone else playing Bernadette... well, anyone except for Sherilyn Fenn, who has exactly the same dark, sultry look. The other cast members were also chosen perfectly, and though none of them are mega-famous (in fact - most are relatively unknown), the performance surpasses that of well-known Hollywood stars by *miles*.Anyway, I was impressed with the movie, and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter.

sketchfordawn The Magdalene Sisters chronicles the experiences of three young girls in the infamous Magdalene Laundries. The Laundries were Catholic clergy-run organizations in operation from the 19th century up until the late 20th century in Ireland. Girls were sent to work in these institutions for suspicion of having sex outside of marriage, showing provocative character, or for simply being "too pretty". Mullen succeeds in exposing the outright abuse that went on in these institutions at a time when the Church was seen to be Ireland's highest moral authority.The film focuses on the stories of three "fallen" girls who have all been landed in the Laundries for sins they didn't commit. What is most shocking about this film is the utter sadism and cruelty of the nuns who run the asylum. They force the girls to work beyond endurance in abysmal conditions, and routinely subject them to humiliation of an unthinkable nature. In one scene, the nuns line the naked girls up and judge who is the hairiest, who has the biggest breasts, etc. Mullen wanted the girls to appear natural, and insisted that the they not shave themselves or pluck their eyebrows prior to and during filming. No one is wearing make-up and all the girls wear the same unflattering garb. This adds to the realism of the film and brings his asylum closer to the real Laundries. The clever polarization of character personalities made for some interesting clashes. There is Bernadette, who is fiery and headstrong; Margaret, a responsible girl with a strong sense of morality. Rose, whose good nature endeared me quickly to her. And Crispina, who is just plain bonkers. I found the development of Margaret's character to be particularly interesting: The more oppression she is subjected to, the more she comes to value her independence. This all culminates until her brother finally comes to collect her after four years. Upon realising her newfound freedom, she wont even have her brother tell her to hurry so they can get going: "Don't you dare tell me what to do! Don't you ever dare tell me what to do!"Eileen Walsh was brilliant in this movie. Her portrayal of the simple but eccentric inmate Crispina certainly added a lot of colour to the film. Despite the obviously bleak theme, there are some humorous moments in the film and these usually involve Crispina. This was a very difficult role to take on, as Crispina's theatrical and over-dramatic personality required Walsh to portray such a wide array of emotions. So convincing was Walsh's performance that I found myself feeling real compassion for the girl. She's not all there and is virtually clueless about the world, which makes her fate all the more poignant. Walsh sacrificed vanity more than any of the other girls for this role, which is also to be admired. Her performance stood out for me as one of the highlights of the film.This film should appeal to the secular-minded and those who are critical of religion in general. I don't know if Mullen himself holds any biases in this area, but he certainly succeeds in highlighting just how detrimental an effect fundamentalism can have on a society. It has torn the girls' families apart, stripped them of their independence and, for some of them, has resulted is the considerable deterioration of their mental health. The girls enter the asylum as strong, healthy individuals who, over time, come to forget how to interact properly with other people and find it difficult to distinguish what is real and what isn't. One of the prevailing themes in The Magdalene Sisters is the hypocrisy of devout Christians, who claim to model themselves off of Christ, yet are so un Christ-like in their treatment of the "fallen" in society. This is especially true of the nuns, who are supposed to serve as women of Christ, yet fail to follow in his example of forgiveness and love.One aspect of this movie I found particularly interesting was its depiction how society viewed women in the era. The treatment of the Magdalene girls raises questions about the injustices and double-standards which existed in the early 20th century. Even though the girls of Magdalene are not at fault for being raped, getting pregnant or simply being attractive, it is the women who are punished and ostracised.The crew did a great job of recreating the atmosphere of the old Irish Laundries. Most of the film is shot in dimly lit conditions, to emphasize the bleak and gloomy feel of the place. We get a brief glimpse of the beautiful Irish countryside when Margaret steps outside the grounds of Magdalene and becomes disorientated as she surveys the outside world. She is startled by the light and beauty of freedom, which is in stark contrast to her confinement in the Laundries. Sound is also manipulated to great effect. I really got the feel of an old, spacious dank church as every sound is clearly heard resonating off the stone walls. I think the echo was supposed to simulate that constant feeling of being alone which pervaded the asylum.The shocking nature of this film may prompt the viewer who has had no prior knowledge of the Magdalene asylums to question how accurate a representation it is of the actual Laundries. Indeed, I myself found it hard to accept that the asylums could be this bad until I watched Steve Humphries' 1998 documentary "Sex in a Cold Climate", on which this film is based, and found the reality to be just as harrowing as the adaptation. In fact, one of the inmates told Mullen that the reality of the Laundry was much worse than what is depicted in the film.I really can't recommend this film enough. It was moving, entertaining, and shocking enough to hold my attention until the final credits rolled. Expect to have a seething hatred of Irish nuns instilled in you. 10/10