A harrowing look at institutional cruelty.
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08/15/03
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The Magdalene Sisters (2003)
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Reviews Counted:143
Fresh:129
Rotten:14
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: A typical women-in-prision film made untypical because it's based on real events.
Theatrical Release:Aug 1, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $4,685,516
Synopsis: Peter Mullen's shocking drama THE MAGDALENE SISTERS is based on real events that took place in Ireland from the 1960s until 1996 when an estimated 30,000 young women, considered by their families... [More]
Starring: Geraldine McEwan, Dorothy Duffy, Anne-Marie Duff, Eileen Walsh
Director: Peter Mullan
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Reviews for The Magdalene Sisters
Top CriticAn intense expose with bits of acrid humor.
08/15/03
Top CriticA fierce, brilliant film that breaks (and then mends) your heart.
08/15/03
Top CriticIf 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.
08/14/03
“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.
08/13/03
While perhaps slightly monotonous and a bit more heavy-handed than it needed to be, it’s a fine, serious film.
08/12/03
It's incredibly sad and difficult to watch because the suffering is relentless, but the solid performances of the young ladies make this worth watching.
08/08/03
A great film that deserves genuflection.
08/06/03
Top CriticMullan has crafted a gripping yarn, full of bitter humour and ironic twists and turns.
08/05/03
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.
08/04/03
The film is beautifully acted by all, but Nora-Jane Noone, as the sloe-eyed orphan Bernadette, is first among equals here, and a genuine find.
08/04/03
I want people to give this movie a chance, it's one of the best movies of the year I think.
08/04/03
Top CriticClick to read the article
08/04/03
All in all, a worthy, if dull effort which leaves us feeling we've been assigned to a lecture of limited inspiration.
08/02/03
The individual stories told in the film resonate less than the oppressive environment evoked, which is depicted in painstaking, and painful, detail.
08/02/03
A classic crowd-pleaser, a neo-Gothic tale whose appealing heroines are unfairly oppressed but finally find the strength to set themselves free.
08/02/03
Top CriticBoth a masterpiece and a holy hell.
08/02/03
It's tough material, presented honestly without sensationalism by a cast of young actors who give searing performances.
08/02/03
The Magdalene Sisters is a film that causes an immediate emotional outrage as much as it educates.
08/01/03
Like Phillip Noyce's recent Rabbit-Proof Fence, which exposed similar crimes of mass containment and correction against Australia's Aboriginal people, The Magdalene Sisters is social history told with anger and an agenda.
08/01/03
Top CriticLatest News for The Magdalene Sisters
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