Agnes of God (1985)

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

John Pielmeier (play)
John Pielmeier (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What unspeakable crime took place behind the third floor window? Only Agnes knows. And Dr. Martha Livingston is the one person who can unravel the mystery.

Plot:

When a naive novice nun is discovered with a dead newborn in her convent quarters, a court appointed psychiatrist investigates her case.

Plot Keywords:

Psychiatrist | Novice | Convent | Nun | Mother Superior

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Dr. Martha Livingston
Anne Bancroft	...	Mother Miriam Ruth
Meg Tilly	...	Sister Agnes
Anne Pitoniak	...	Dr. Livingston's Mother
Winston Rekert	...	Det. Langevin
Gratien Gélinas	...	Father Martineau
Guy Hoffman	...	Justice Joseph Leveau
Gabriel Arcand	...	Monsignor
Françoise Faucher	...	Eve LeClaire
Jacques Tourangeau	...	Eugene Lyon
Janine Fluet	...	Sister Marguerite
Deborah Grover	...	Sister Anne
Michele George	...	Sister Susanna
Samantha Langevin	...	Sister Jeannine
Jacqueline Blais	...	Sister David Marie

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Anne Pitoniak who portrays Jane Fonda's mother in Agnes of God (1985), was the original Mother Miriam Ruth when the play was first produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Quotes:

Mother Miriam Ruth: My dear, I don't think a Communion wafer has the recommended daily allowance of anything.
Sister Agnes: [whispers] Of God...

Movie Connections:

References The Blues Brothers (1980)

Such a good movie.

Having seen this movie for the first time when I was 15 or so, and having no idea what I was watching, I was in for some great viewing when I watched it again 20 years later.

The cast, needless to say, is stupendous. Jane Fonda, the late Anne Bancroft, and a fledgling Meg Tilly, back in a time when movies with just women actors were unheard of, especially dramas.

The plot of the movie orbits around a crime. In a convent, in the middle of a cold Canadian night, a scream in the darkness uncovers an unconscious Nun, Agnes(Meg Tilly), coverd in blood. After she is taken away the mother superior(Anne Bancroft) finds, to her horror, a dead baby in the waste paper basket in Agnes' cell.

Leary of sending a Nun to prison the Candian legal system assigns a psychiatrist (Jane Fonda) to Agnes to determine that Agnes is insane and to have her committed.

We soon find out, the Agnes, very young, innocent, and iggnorant of the ways of the world, had no idea that she was pregnant, how she became pregnant, or how anyone becomes pregnant. Agnes often is spoken to by someone she calls "the lady", as well as her dead mother. There are plot twists, and faith based happenings, and possible psychological explanations to things that happen in this movie to the point that would leave anyone guessing.

I believe this movie to be a hidden classic. The acting is superb, and seamless. The only thing I would question in this movie is the directors decision to make Jane Fonda's character (Dr. Martha Livingston) smoke so much. It is clear that Ms. Fonda did not smoke at the time, and she handles the cigarettes awkwardly at times.

Meg Tilly, however, is the light of this movie. She displays a John Malkovich ability to act seemingly crazy, but somehow not, at the same time.

Anne Bancroft, when is there ever anything to say about her, other then utter perfection.

The end of the movie leaves the watcher to make his or her own decision. Is Agnes insane? Or was she brutilized horribly by some man that managed to sneak into the convent. Why did the Mother Superior not tell everything she knew sooner? Truly a wonderful piece of film!