The Magdalene Sisters (2002)

Director:

Peter Mullan

Writer:

Peter Mullan (written by)

Release Date:

25 October 2002 (Ireland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

In a place that defied belief their only hope was each other.

Plot:

Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.

Plot Keywords:

Punishment | Laundry | Nun | Escape | Forced Sexual Contact

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 13 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Geraldine McEwan	...	Sister Bridget
Anne-Marie Duff	...	Margaret
Nora-Jane Noone	...	Bernadette
Dorothy Duffy	...	Rose / Patricia
Eileen Walsh	...	Crispina
Mary Murray	...	Una
Britta Smith	...	Katy
Frances Healy	...	Sister Jude
Eithne McGuinness	...	Sister Clementine
Phyllis MacMahon	...	Sister Augusta (as Phyllis McMahon)
Rebecca Walsh	...	Josephine
Eamonn Owens	...	Eamonn
Chris Simpson	...	Brendan
Sean Colgan	...	Seamus
Daniel Costello	...	Father Fitzroy

Also Known As:

The Magdalene Sisters (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/cruelty, nudity, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 (original rating) | Ireland:18 (video rating) | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:B15 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:11 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK

Company:

Scottish Screen

Trivia:

Former Magdalen Asylum inmate, Mary-Jo McDonagh, told director and writer Peter Mullan that the reality of the Magdalene Asylums was much worse than depicted in the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The guitar the man plays at the beginning of the film is a Taylor acoustic guitar. Taylor Guitars was not established until 1974.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Margaret: Well, what is it you're wanting to show me? Come on, Kevin, what's the secret?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2004 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Well Below the Valley

Truly moving film

I would give this film 20 out of 10! Excellent acting, nimble direction and very well crafted representations of real-historical events and persons. Eileen Walsh should get a special award for an incredible performance as Crispina - Eileen, you are fantastic! I look forward to more from you! What shook me was the realization that this movie captured the interplay of Dickensian exploitation interwoven with the fascistic barbarity of the church. The laundry was a slave-plantation par excellence as it ground its physically, sexually and emotionally exploited slaves within an atmosphere of sheer terror and self-hatred - we deserve what we get because we are guilty - shame on us - this is what the masters of every plantation on this planet sought to instill in slaves.

What I would have liked to see developed further was how this laundry-plantation fit within the wider Irish society - whose clothes were being washed, and what was their relationship to the people who were incarcerated here? Religion's role in the sheer brutalization of its adherents has been evidenced throughout history - no mass religion has brought anything other than terror, subjugation and self-hatred to women - this film proves it beyond doubt! As men, we are beneficiaries of such brutalities to women - and we are like Margaret's brother - who sheepishly mutters some nonsense about waiting to grow up while his sister lived in hell. What pained me most in this film was the terrible scene of uniformed men dragging Crispina out of the dormitory - to her destruction - and here the most painful part was noting that none of the women could shake off their terror to help their sister who cried for help. The scene captured in a brutal moment, the truth that tyranny can only thrive with our collective fear. Religion like other totalitarian ideologies rules by internalized terror.

Enough, go on and watch this movie, its worth every tear you shed, because in the end, you will find that being disturbed makes you recognize the suffering of every Crispina, Margaret, Rose, Bernadette among us.