The Magdalene Sisters Movie Review 2002

Semi-fictionalized stories of four young Irish women sentenced to life in a religious labor camp run by the Sisters of the Magdalene Order from 1964 to 1969. Their "crimes" include overt flirtatiousness, having been raped, bearing a child out of wedlock, and other perceived sexual offenses. They're treated cruelly by the ogre in authority, Sister Bridget (McEwan) and any attempt at escape is met with more brutality. Grim, powerful film captures the atrocities of 1960s-era Irish Catholicism with frightful clarity.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 119 minutes.
Originally from British, Irish.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Nuns & Priests, Period Piece: 1960s, Ethics & Morals, Female Bonding, True Stories, Ireland

Screenplay

Peter Mullan

Cast

Geraldine McEwan, Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh, Mary Murray, Britta Smith, Frances Healy, Eithne McGuinness, Daniel Costello

Cinematography

Nigel Willoughby

Director

Peter Mullan

Music

Craig Armstrong

Other

Colin Nicholson, Colin Monie, Jean Kerr, Caroline Grebbell, Trisha Biggar, Mark Leese

Producer

Frances Higson, Scottish Screen, Irish Film Board, Momentum Pictures, PFP Films, Temple Films, Miramax Films

Awards

Venice Film Fest. 2002: Film.