The Magdalene Sisters

It's a well-crafted film with good performances and writing, but it never really delivered any deep insights or touching moments. It mostly just manipulates the audience into feeling sorry for the awful lot these girls received without really explaining how these sorts of things can happen and their significance.

Good movie, but hard for me to watch. I always get so riled up when I see really heavy injustices going on. I wanted the girls to just go wild and kick some nun ass.

Low-key peer into a face of cruelty masked by religious righteousness, brilliantly personified by McEwan’s sadistic head nun; echoing Nurse Ratched, but still a fully formed (and frightening) original creation. Mullan has a good feel for the oppressively musty and damp confines of the location and the film is nicely played by the remaining cast, who elevate this into something more than a “movie of the week” and offsetting occasional tendencies of the screenplay to drift into TV-level melodrama.

Not something I'd choose to watch, but a solid piece of drama nonetheless

Film is based to true story and presents as the true face of catholic society and church. Film was awarded with Golden Lion Award in Venice Film Festival and it totally deserves that. Even the main events are centered between interactions of cruel nuns and patience of modest girls sent to the catholic facility.

grim.Upsetting to think what those girls&women went through. Shame on the Church & shame on Ireland. A good film, makes you think.

Not sure why I watch films like this as anything to do with injustice I find hard to watch, and religious injustice, based on its sheer hypocrisy and stupidity, the most hard. That said, this is a well crafted drama with terrific performances from the main cast. The sense of institutionalization, having 'no where to run to' and the loss of humanity is well handled and gives the film a feeling of completeness, as do the closing fictitious "histories" of the main characters. Moving and compelling.

Now this is a scary movie. Also, sad. Really freaky sad upsetting nightmare. Well done.

The opening scenes were very strong and affecting. Towards the middle part it started to drag a little and some of the scenes were slightly over the top (the scene at the laundry for example). Overall a good film with good acting.

This doesn't attempt to reveal to us the evils of the catholic church or religion; the film seems to presuppose those things are bad. Rather, this is more of a study of the way people, specifically young women, handle themselves in an unjust prison environment. I rooted for the girls. I wanted them to escape and be freed from their oppressors. Yet I was frustrated they didn't do more to try to run away. But then again, I'm not in their shoes. And thank God for that.

Sometimes I think I shouldn't watch films like this. They make me so angry and frustrated - it can't be good for me. It's based on actual events, which made me even angrier. These girls were so horribly mistreated. I just couldn't stand the way the nuns were talking to the girls. Anyway, it was a pretty good film. It was well-acted and it looked appropriately grim. So, yeah, if you don't mind watching characters go through all sorts of injustices, I'd recommend this.

Great acting and a compelling story about injustice. A memorable film.

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

A beautiful and touching movie. Especially liked the acting (great casting).

WOMEN IN PRISON MOVIE

Powerful subject matter, too many characters.

Geraldine McEwen is flat out brilliant in this very stark and depressing journey into humiliation. Deeply unpleasant and distressing.

Violence for the spirit.

Good film.