Three young Irish
women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure
dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.
CRITIQUE
Peter Mullan tells
an interesting story in The Magdalene Sisters, one that's
kind of hard to believe in today's times considering the type of
activity that was required of the girls and treatment given to
them. The young women inside the asylums are seemingly everyday
people, yet the values of religion and the evils of sin play place
many constraints on their lives. Any type of sex or sexual
behavior is a sin, unusual behavior is regarded as rebellious and
out of control, etc. The place is Dublin, Ireland, and the time is
the 1950s. The right for freedom certainly didn't apply to young
women whose parents admitted them to the asylums or simply
abandoned them.
The film interweaves
three stories, but it incorporates them into a larger story that
tells about the girls' struggle for survival, their support for
each other, and their will to one day make an escape. The three
characters aren't friends or have a chance to bond under the
conditions because talking is not allowed and everyday means hard
work, mostly cleaning clothes and doing various chores. When there
is a conversation or only a small interruption punishment is
threatened. Director Peter Mullan doesn't exploit the punishment
scenes, instead he films them somewhat low-key and yet they still
resonate because of the reactions and the point of view in which
they appear.
The three lead
actresses are terrific. Their performances are realistic and give
the film an edge. The script is tightly plotted with expository
scenes and a few rewarding subplots. Mullan's direction is solid
and sincere, and the film's pace moves along just fine. No one
scene drags as each confrontation, beating, or conversation among
the girls furthers the plot and invokes emotion. I really
sympathized with these girls who really didn't have choices to
make for themselves, but instead lived through years of oppression
inside the asylums. The Magdalene Sisters is a compelling
film because it tells a powerful story that not many people may be
familiar with. Craig Armstrong's score evokes emotion and also
feels uplifting, and the cinematography is very established.
THE VIDEO
Miramax presents The
Magdalene Sisters in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The first
thing to note is the incredibly high volume of grain that
appears in this presentation. Most likely due to low light, many
scenes look a bit fuzzy. Colors, however, look good and are
generally well-saturated. Detail is not always clear, but looks
good. Sharpness is lacking, but the print image appears
in pretty nice condition. I didn't notice any problems with
artifacts or dirt on the print, yet dark tones and black levels
are not very deep. Overall, the transfer looks fine but the
source material just doesn't look all that good.
THE AUDIO
Miramax presents The
Magdalene Sisters in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. This
film is very much audio-driven, but the front speakers do a
really good job of emitting dialogue efficiently. Dialogue is
clear and easy to understand. The surrounds decently reinforce
Craig Armstrong's very good music score. Channel separation is
decent, yet there isn't much surround sound activity as a whole.
For this type of film, the audio presentation sounds just fine.
There's also a
French 5.1 dub track. Optional subtitles include English, French
and Spanish.
THE EXTRAS
The only extra is
the fascinating documentary called Sex in a Cold Climate
(53:03) that inspired the film. It features interviews with
survivors of the Magdalene Asylums, and provides both
interesting and compelling stories about people and religion.
Definitely check out this documentary after the film, especially
if you liked it, as the amount of insight into the past is very
interesting. On the other hand, a making-of featurette would've
been real nice to have here.
The
120-minute feature is organized into twenty chapters. There is
no paper insert.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Magdalene Sisters
tells a powerful and compelling story that is captured in a haunting
light, supported by great performances of the lead actresses. BV's
video/audio is only decent at best and the single extra is very
insightful. This DVD is a highly recommended rental.
