6
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
‘Sisters’ struggle through Catholic life
BY DIANE EIKENBERRY
STAFF WRITER
The nuns are laundering
money.
And laundering for money.
In a film named for them, the
Magdalene sisters launder clothes
and cleanse souls in their asylums
for wayward girls.
These nun-run laundries pro
vide opportunities for penitence
through harsh labor for girls
deemed impure by the judgmen
tal Irish Catholic society and
often by their own parents or pas
tors.
v Based on a true story, “The
"Magdalene Sisters” chronicles the
tragic experiences and life stories
of three of those girls —Margaret
'(Anne-Marie Duff), Bernadette
,(Nora-Jane Noone) and Rose
Duffy).
The film opens with each girl’s
“crimes”: One is raped by a cousin,
' another has a child out of wedlock
’4nd the third simply is too pretty.
“In a country of God* tempta
tion must be kept away so that the
true natures of men can be seen,”
( Sister Bridget (Geraldine
McEwan), the head of the laundry,
STAR
★ POOR
FAIR
★★★ GOOD
★★★★ EXCELLENT
★★★★★ CLASSIC
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MOVIE EVIEW
"THE MAGDALENE SISTERS"
says to the doe-eyed brunette
marked as a temptress.
Sister Bridget’s opening lines
lay the foundation of hypocrisy
from which sadism grows almost
unchecked —but director Peter
Mullan saves the film from mawk
ishness by retaining elements of
ambiguity.
The girls who become almost
sexless under the abuse of the sis
ters don’t band together and
rise up in indignation.
Some of them are selfish, but
Mullan allows them to explain
their attitudes. Some of them are
stupid, which the film unpityingly
underscores.
Mullan uses a realistic, docu
mentary-like style, focusing on
sustained shots and character
tracking, which puts the audience
amidst the story instead of sepa
rating it from the screen with a
deluge of visual and aural
doodads.
The sweeping mood music of
most films is muted here
Mullan lets the pain tear from the
inmates’ throats in raw, cacopho
nous shrieks rather than capturing
the moment with piercing violins
or crashing drums.
But the screams as well as the
beatings last too long, as if Mullan
made mistakes postproduction in
the editing room.
Yet the intensified seat
squirming enhances the film’s
Diversions
W. W’ ~■ wr~
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIRAMAX
Dorothy Duffy, Anne-Marie Duff and Nora-Jane Noone star as a trio of "sexual sinners" forced to launder
clothes as a form of retribution under the hypocritical rule of a band of nuns, "The Magdalene Sisters."
realism. It hurts because it really
happened.
Fortunately, some of the girls get
out —but the world isn’t rosy ever
after.
The film finishes abruptly with
character end notes that summa
rize the lives of the survivors
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melancholy stories that unsurpris
ingly follow' a realistic depiction of
asylum life.
“The Magdalene Sisters” is a
film about the past that provokes
emotion that could —and should
—be channeled into activism. But
the release of the film in 2003
moTCHßOxtwenty
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Saturday, Sept. 27th
Trask Coliseum 7pm
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
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contactng UNCW Campus Activities & Involvement Center Division of Student Affairs I l|\J( YY
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comes a bit too late.
The last of the oppressive,
shocking Magdalene asylums
closed seven years ago in 1996.
All that’s left is cynicism.
Contact theAOE Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
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DIVERECOMMENDS
The Listening, Little Brother
One of the most refreshing releas
es in recent hip-hop. Inviting,
energetic and genuine, these N.C.
Central University alums bring
hip-hop back to the B-boys and
away from the hot boys. Ethereal
head-nodders such as “Nighttime
Manuevers” and the title track
prove that the group’s producer
and DJ, 9th Wonder, truly might
belong next to the Pyramids, the
Hanging Gardens and DJ
Premier.
"Imaro," Charles R. Saunders
This tale of an African warrior
rivals the best of the sword-and
sorcery genre. Breakneck pacing
brings a haunted, parallel Africa to
life. The book is considered a
bench mark for its positive por
trayal of a black fantasy hero. Hard
to find, easy to dig.
Hail to the Thief, Radiohead
Despite naysayers, the Oxford
quintet continues to push the lis
tener’s boundaries in its pursuit of
art rock as future shock. It’s not the
band’s best work, but songs such as
“There There” and “Myxomatosis”
add much missed fire to a recently
icy catalogue. Coldplay defectors
need to recognize.
“Fresh” The idea of a 12-year-old
drug runner causing a cocaine war
is caustic enough, but the unapolo
getic grit of this film makes it the
finest of its genre. Sean Nelson is
ever believable as he navigates a
world too deadly for most adults,
but a mere chess game for his pre
cocious title character. You won’t
believe his coldness as he repri
mands a desperate crack fiendess.
Contact Tacque Kirksey
at kirksey@email.unc.edu.