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Movie Overview
Cast
• Geraldine McEwan
• Dorothy Duffy
• Anne-Marie Duff
Director
• Peter Mullan
MPAA Rating
R - violence/cruelty, nudity, sexual content and language
The Magdalene Sisters (2003)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS OTHER
OFCS Rating: 79% Fresh
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9/10
"Even if you question the validity behind many of the arguments presented in the story, there is no denying the volcanic passion behind this often brilliant film."  Modamag.com  Brian Orndorf

B-
"Two hours of, "This is wrong!" can be difficult to bear. What makes The Magdalene Sisters much better than a censorious browbeating is the girls themselves..."  AboutFilm.com  Carlo Cavagna

"Mullan's film both amplifies and flattens these stories, so they are at once sensational and too intimate, by filling in narrative gaps and detailing scenes of mistreatment and malevolence."  PopMatters  Cynthia Fuchs

74/100
"Bracing and potent, though the film's stylistic polish is sometimes tonally counterintuitive"  Cinemania  Dan Jardine

B-
"This flick explores the subjugation of promiscuous women at the hands of an order of nuns; if you’re looking for fun at the movies, look elsewhere."  EDGE Boston  David Foucher

3/4
"A harrowing indictment of the atrocities performed in the name of organized religion."  Movie Boeuf  David N. Butterworth

2/4
"Writer/director Peter Mullan clearly feels very strongly about this subject, but his lack of objectivity prevents the film from becoming more than just a one-sided tirade."  Reel Film Reviews  David Nusair

B
"A powerful eye-opening drama."  Ozus' World Movie Reviews  Dennis Schwartz

2.5/4
"That Magdalene Sisters arrives stateside with the full censure of the Vatican more or less confirms Mullan's job-well-done."  Slant Magazine  Ed Gonzalez

3.5/4
"If Writer/Director Mullan is true to the facts, then I don't need to hear the other side of the story since its likely one with a single purpose in mind not willing to listen to anyone else."  eFilmCritic.com  Erik Childress

B-
"Though there is undeniable gratification in watching the girls' eventual rebellion, there is also the nagging feeling that Peter Mullan has missed the point almost entirely."  Film Blather  Eugene Novikov

B
"A story that, in its general outline, follows a fairly predictable path, but conveys enough specificity of time and place to give it greater punch than you might expect."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

"This unflinching and compelling film about a Catholic order in Ireland that incarcerated those considered by the community to be fallen women will make your blood boil."  Spirituality and Practice  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

3/4
"This is a worthwhile movie because it is well-made and encourages viewers to think and feel."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

3/4
"As compelling as the material is, the film never quite grabs you as anything more than a gruesome exposé (although a particularly timely and important one)."  Q Network Film Desk  James Kendrick

5/5
"Tough drama about Ireland's Catholic homes for "fallen" women is a cruel, wrenching drama with a sting of truth behind every atrocity."  Netflix  James Rocchi

3.5/4
"The film’s strength lies not in the harrowing crimes of its namesakes, but in the feisty spirit of the maltreated girls whose determination to escape their Dickensian nightmare transcends all."  Palo Alto Weekly  Jeanne Aufmuth

7/10
"Its mode is that of 'a story that needs to be told,' lest we forget the marginalized lessons of history... worth seeing at least once."  Window to the Movies  Jeffrey Chen

2/5
"Like many lectures on righteousness, it's also painfully dull."  Filmcritic.com  Jeremiah Kipp

2/4
"We never doubt where Mullan's polemical biases lie, [but] such simplifications rob the movie of much of its dramatic effect."  MovieMartyr.com  Jeremy Heilman

2.5/5
"remains far too formulaic to last longer than a passing footnote soon destined for dusty shelves"  ToxicUniverse.com  John A. Nesbit

7/10
"...a powerful, dramatic, moving, dark, and depressing experience."  DVDTown.com  John J. Puccio

"The Catholic Church may not like the way they're portrayed in "The Magdalene Sisters," but if you're going to do the crime, you should be willing to do the time."  Light Views  John Larsen

9/10
"Heartbreakingly bleak."  Planet Sick-Boy  Jon Popick

A-
"What is most horrific about Mullan's look at the Magdalene asylums is that the Church had so strong a grip...that parents would be complicit in the barbaric treatment of their own children"  Reeling Reviews  Laura Clifford

3/4
"First and foremost, The Magdalene Sisters is an important film, a brutal, unwavering exposé on a deplorable crime against women perpetrated by the Irish Catholic Church that went unchecked and unquestioned until 1996."  Mark Reviews Movies  Mark Dujsik

6/10
"This is a strong film about a shameful period in recent Church history."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  Mark R. Leeper

4/5
"Um filme forte e relevante."  Cinema em Cena  Pablo Villaca

4/5
"The film is forceful, perhaps a bit too tidy, but thoroughly accessible, moving and ultimately devastating stuff."  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline

5/5
"This is a riveting piece of drama about a forgotten slice of history, no matter what the esteemed movie critics at the Vatican say about it."  eFilmCritic.com  Rob Gonsalves

B
"Very good cinematically and it uncovers terrible injustices, but journalistically, it shoots itself in the foot."  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

A-
"“The Magdalene Sisters” may be criticized for beating the Church when it’s down but the heartfelt honesty of the work, the fine performances and deft crafting make this a must for the socially conscious."  Reeling Reviews  Robin Clifford

B+
"(It) isn't subtle... but it is passionate and angry and rousing where you might expect it to become numbing and depressing."  Seattle Post-Intelligencer  Sean Axmaker

"Whatever value the film might have had as an exposé of social sin is undermined by its prejudicial stereotyping of every single nun and priest. Instead of a morally serious film about a corrupt institution… it becomes mere agitprop."  Decent Films Guide  Steven D. Greydanus

4/4
"Although there are welcome moments of humor and warmth, The Magdalene Sisters is frequently painful to watch."  Reel.com  Timothy Knight

2.5/4
"The picture is passionate without question, but perhaps passionate to a fault."  Film Freak Central  Walter Chaw

"Click here to see review"  Wolf Entertainment Guide  William Wolf

9/10
Read review  www.susangranger.com  Susan Granger
OFCS Rating: 79% Fresh
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