The Magdalene Sisters
Encyclopedia
The Magdalene Sisters is a 2002 film
written and directed by Peter Mullan
about teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Asylums, otherwise known as the 'Magdalene Laundries': homes for women who were labeled as "fallen" by their families or society (though the film questions this). The homes were maintained by individual religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.
Peter Mullan has remarked that the film was initially made because victims of Magdalene Asylums had received no closure in the form of recognition, compensation, or apology, and many remained lifelong devout Catholics. Former Magdalene inmate Mary-Jo McDonagh told Mullan that the reality of the Magdalene Asylums was much worse than depicted in the film.
Though set in Ireland
, it was shot entirely on location in the Dumfries and Galloway area, South-West Scotland.
reported that 90% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 144 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 83 out of 100, based on 38 reviews — indicating "universal acclaim". This made it the twentieth best reviewed film of the year. The film appeared on several US critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2003.
The film also received critical acclaim when it was premiered at the Venice Film Festival
in 2002, culminating with Peter Mullan taking home the festival's highest prize the Golden Lion
.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
written and directed by Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
about teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Asylums, otherwise known as the 'Magdalene Laundries': homes for women who were labeled as "fallen" by their families or society (though the film questions this). The homes were maintained by individual religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.
Peter Mullan has remarked that the film was initially made because victims of Magdalene Asylums had received no closure in the form of recognition, compensation, or apology, and many remained lifelong devout Catholics. Former Magdalene inmate Mary-Jo McDonagh told Mullan that the reality of the Magdalene Asylums was much worse than depicted in the film.
Though set in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, it was shot entirely on location in the Dumfries and Galloway area, South-West Scotland.
Cast
- Geraldine McEwanGeraldine McEwanGeraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
: Sister Bridget - Anne-Marie DuffAnne-Marie DuffAnne-Marie Duff is an English actress best known for playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, and Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen.-Early life:...
: Margaret McGuire - Nora Jane NooneNora Jane NooneNora-Jane Noone is an Irish film and television actress best known for her role in The Magdalene Sisters, where she played Bernadette.-Early life:...
: Bernadette Harvey - Dorothy Duffy : Rose/Patricia Dunne
- Eileen WalshEileen Walsh-Biography:Born and raised in Cork, Ireland, Walsh was raised in a Catholic household, and had no intention of becoming an actress, until she followed in the footsteps of her elder sister, who was also an actress, and young Eileen began to attend theatre workshops...
: Harriet/Crispina - Mary Murray : Una O'Connor
- Britta Smith : Katy
- Frances HealyFrances HealyFrances Healy is an Irish actress, comedienne, radio personality and TV presenter. She starred as Niamh Corrigan in the famous BBC Scotland soap opera River City. Other television credits include Taggart and the Irish soap Fair City. Film credits include The Magdalene Sisters and The Serpent's...
: Sister Jude - Eithne McGuinness : Sister Clementine
- Phyllis MacMahon : Sister Augusta
- Rebecca WalshRebecca WalshRebecca Walsh is an English actress, best known for playing Mary in the 2010 British gangster movie Bonded by Blood.-Career:...
: Josephine - Eamonn Owens : Eamonn, Margaret's brother
- Chris Patrick-SimpsonChris Patrick-SimpsonChris Patrick-Simpson is a Northern Irish actor.Chris is best known for his role as Brendan in the film The Magdalene Sisters. He has also appeared in the film The Boxer, the TV Drama The Clinic, and Fifty Dead Men Walking. Showreel can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi2ZUq3UoD4.-...
: Brendan - Sean Colgan : Seamus
- Daniel Costello : Father Fitzroy
Critical reception
The film received very positive reviews from critics. As of 25 October 2008, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 90% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 144 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 83 out of 100, based on 38 reviews — indicating "universal acclaim". This made it the twentieth best reviewed film of the year. The film appeared on several US critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2003.
- 3rd: Ty BurrTy BurrTy Burr has been a film critic for the Boston Globe since 2002 where he reviews films alongside Wesley Morris.Born in 1957, he studied film at Dartmouth College and New York University and has written three books: The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and...
, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993... - 6th: Michael Wilmington, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- 6th: Owen GleibermanOwen GleibermanOwen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture... - 7th: Jack Mathews, Daily News (New York)
- 8th: Carla Meyer, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
- 9th: V.A. Musetto, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
- 10th: Claudia Puig, USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
The film also received critical acclaim when it was premiered at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in 2002, culminating with Peter Mullan taking home the festival's highest prize the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
.