The rustic Montreal suburb setting adds a sense of mystery and awe inspiring spiritual power as court appointed psychiatrist Jane Fonda questions the alleged baby killing nun Meg Tilly over a horrific crime. Mother Superior Anne Bancroft is seemingly supportive, but she has her secrets too, slowly revealed through intimate conversations with Fonda whose faith has dwindled down to nonexistent years before.
The Broadway play this was based on was a masterpiece of stage drama, and in opening up the play to film has not improved its power, just made it more accessible to audiences. The three ladies are all superb, creating characterizations that will stick in the viewer's minds long after the film is done. Tilly is fragile, nearly child like, obviously suffering from a potential complete mental collapse, and at times, she is heartbreaking to watch. There's no soul visible through her pale skin and empty eyes which thanks to the photography and lighting, adds to her look which makes her mystery all the more compelling.
The two veteran Oscar winning actresses, Bancroft and Fonda, are commanding together, each individually creating characters that are powerfully written and pain stakeingly developed. With Fonda, it's easy to see that she's acting, never at one moment making you forget who she is as a star and actress. But Bancroft disappears into the role of the Mother Superior so tightly that you really believe that she is her character, and her conflicted belief system as it is revealed makes her all the more powerful to watch.
It's the small quiet moments between Fonda and Bancroft that stand out, even though the more fiery ones are intensely gripping. Bancroft is alternately funny, compassionate, sarcastic, judgmental and stern, and watching her switch from one mood to another without batting an eyelash is sensational. No wonder she got the leading actress nomination for this, and it is a difficult choice between her and the actual winner, Geraldine Page, who ironically originated this role on Broadway.
The direction of the legendary Norman Jewison keeps this moving at a tight and tense pace, and in editing the play down to 96 minutes, it has compacted what could have otherwise seemed to Stage a or melodramatic into something more intimate and compelling. Obviously the right choices were made in transferring this from stage to screen, and 35 years later that makes this one of the most powerful film adoptions of a hit Broadway play ever.
The Broadway play this was based on was a masterpiece of stage drama, and in opening up the play to film has not improved its power, just made it more accessible to audiences. The three ladies are all superb, creating characterizations that will stick in the viewer's minds long after the film is done. Tilly is fragile, nearly child like, obviously suffering from a potential complete mental collapse, and at times, she is heartbreaking to watch. There's no soul visible through her pale skin and empty eyes which thanks to the photography and lighting, adds to her look which makes her mystery all the more compelling.
The two veteran Oscar winning actresses, Bancroft and Fonda, are commanding together, each individually creating characters that are powerfully written and pain stakeingly developed. With Fonda, it's easy to see that she's acting, never at one moment making you forget who she is as a star and actress. But Bancroft disappears into the role of the Mother Superior so tightly that you really believe that she is her character, and her conflicted belief system as it is revealed makes her all the more powerful to watch.
It's the small quiet moments between Fonda and Bancroft that stand out, even though the more fiery ones are intensely gripping. Bancroft is alternately funny, compassionate, sarcastic, judgmental and stern, and watching her switch from one mood to another without batting an eyelash is sensational. No wonder she got the leading actress nomination for this, and it is a difficult choice between her and the actual winner, Geraldine Page, who ironically originated this role on Broadway.
The direction of the legendary Norman Jewison keeps this moving at a tight and tense pace, and in editing the play down to 96 minutes, it has compacted what could have otherwise seemed to Stage a or melodramatic into something more intimate and compelling. Obviously the right choices were made in transferring this from stage to screen, and 35 years later that makes this one of the most powerful film adoptions of a hit Broadway play ever.