Novitiate

"Novitiate" is set during the 60s, when the Vatican Second council reformed completely the entire Church, by removing some old practices, being less strict. The story follow a young woman that decides to take her vows to become a nun, during this big transition. The Reverend Mother of the convent is very reluctant on changing rules.

Things start to go south towards the half of the movie: while there are beautiful depictions of relationships and conflicts between characters, on the other hand, there are others that are not deepen enough. For example, sister Mary Grace had a lot of potential, but she is dismissed too quickly. I did not have the chance to know her at all, and she was a key protagonist. There are here and there a few good scenes, but overall I am not really sure if the nun life represented in this movie was very accurate. I know that this kind of life is very hard and you need to earn your vows, and I am aware that there are orders stricter than others, but I felt that it was forced.

The acting is overall pretty decent, but I cannot say that I was astonished by it. I was definitely excepting more from Margaret Qualley, considering her successful career in recent years, but I was disappointed. There are a lot of cringey scenes, that I could not bare. At some point it seemed almost like a parody. I am aware that there are a lot of scenes that are very demanding in terms of acting, but unfortunately most of actresses did not deliver. Honestly, it is not a bad film, but considering the slow pace rhythm and its two hours length, they could come up with something better for sure.

"Novitiate" (2017 release; 123 min.) brings the story of Kathleen. As the movie opens, we are told it is "1964" and we get to know Kathleen as she is in a nuns' convent. "I was 17 when I entered the convent, 18 when I started the novitiate. We are all women in love." Wow. We then go to "Ten Years Earlier", as we get to know young Kathleen and her mother, and how Kathleen becomes interested in Catholic school, then the Catholic faith, and eventually the Catholic church. At this point we are 10 min, into to movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the feature length debut of writer-director Maggie Betts, And what a debut it is! Betts takes a close look at what the road is like towards becoming a nun, with a 6 months postulate and then the 18 months novitiate. These are all young women with an idealistic view of the Catholic church. In a parallel story, Betts also examines the consequences of the Vatican II reforms. The Reverend Mother who runs the convent is entirely opposed to any ref0rms. "Isn't the church just perfect as it is?", she retorts when a younger nun questions her. As one might expect, the pace of the movie is quite slow and deliberate, so this isn't for anyone in a hurry. At times it almost feels like a documentary. I was bowled over by it all, to be honest, and felt deeply invested into these characters. There are a number of scenes in the movie that will break your heart (the disbelief of Kathleen's mother upon learning what Kathleen intends to do with her life; the "chapel of faults"--I shan't say more...). As it plays out, one can't help but be reminded of "The Nun's Story" starring Audrey Hepburn (when asked why she decided to become a nun, one of the young ladies refers to that movie). The movie is helped enormously by several towering performances: Melissa Leo as the Reverend Mother is outstanding, but even better is Margaret Qualley as Kathleen (in one of her first movie roles--she is best known for her recurring role in HBO's The Leftovers). Qualley reminded me physically immediately of a younger Kirsten Stewart. The range of emotions that Qualley is able to convey on the big screen makes it very clear to me that this is a major up-and-coming talent, the last of which we surely haven't seen. Same can be said of writer-director Maggie Betts. If it sounds like I am gushing about this movie, you bet I am. This movie is for me one of the best I have seen this year.

"Novitiate" premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival to immediate critical acclaim. No idea why it's taken so long to reach my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, but better late than never. The Saturday evening screening where I saw this at was attended very nicely. You could hear a pin drop, as the theater was enraptured by this film. If you are in the mood for a probing psychological drama that poses some serious questions about religion and faith and features several stunning acting performances, you cannot go wrong with this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Novitiate" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Novitiate is not Audrey Hepburn's The Nun's Story, nor is it The Sound of Music, The Singing Nun, or countless other romances about happy nuns. It's closer to Doubt. This "expose" is merciless showing the almost Marines-like indoctrination of young girls, first to be postulants, then novices, then the real deal.

Although the film doesn't have drill sergeants, it has a super-committed Mother Superior (Melissa Leo). She will punish swiftly with, for instance, the girls kneeling to walk while saying Hail Mary's or disciplining themselves with knotted ropes. But the real torture is the interior questioning of the young women about even the existence of God.

Nevertheless they are moving to become "brides of Christ," which when they dress in bridal gowns for the actual marriage borders on satire, hokum, or downright pathos. As more than one postulant avers, "Where is He?" daily, the girls are giving themselves to God while not feeling the divine presence.

Perhaps the biggest problem is the emergence in the early '60's of Vatican II, that progressive body of prelates that liberalized the Church and demoted the nuns. So much for that disrespect as 90,000 pure souls took the last train outta there.

The central postulant, Cathleen (Margaret Qualley), has a tough time with her vocation, much less her attraction to another hopeful. The complications of sexual yearnings in young women is a nicely figurative way of showing the challenges of taking 17 year old girls from a normal life, which usually involves young men.

Cathleen's mother, Julianne Nicholson (Nora Harris), serves as the vox populi questioning the sanity of the process as she is losing her daughter to these unknown forces of religion. For Catholics, Novitiate is a confirmation; for non-Catholics it's a gloss on the complexity of Catholic faith.

Several story lines, but the main story is that of Cathleen Harris (Margaret Qualley) growing up in rural Tennessee during the 1950's who decides at the age of 17 she wants to become a nun. She grows up in a single parent home, her parents divorced due her father's drinking and abusive behavior. Cathleen's mother Nora (Julianne Nicholson) works in a factory and makes no excuses for the men she shares her bed with.

On a whim Nora takes Cathleen to the local Catholic church, her mother is not religious in the least, but thinks Cathleen should at least have some exposure to church. Cathleen is immediately in awe of the church and it's teachings. When the opportunity to attend a Catholic school comes up, her mother is hesitant, but agrees to let her attend when she is told there are full scholarships available. Cathleen is a quiet, shy girl and makes few friends in the years that she attends. She immerses herself in her studies and her faith. When Cathleen announces to her mother she is entering the convent to become a nun her mother is aghast and begins to think Cathleen has lost her mind. Cathleen listens to her mother's rants, does not say a word in response, and then simply walks away.

Cathleen and nineteen others enter into the convent for a variety of reasons, but none as single minded as Cathleen. Just as she's entering the Sisters of the Beloved Rose convent, Vatican II (1962-1965) is underway which will forever change the Catholic church. Mother Superior (Melissa Lea) has spent forty years at the convent and believes there is no reason for the church to consider its relationship with society or other religions and continues to ignore the Vatican's new direction. She has spent her entire life within the walls of the convent and acknowledges she does not, nor does she want an identity outside of that.

Cathleen undergoes emotional, mental, physical, psychological, sexual, and spiritual self examination as do all who have entered the convent. In the end, only five of the twenty will become "brides of Christ" and become nuns. Her mother can only observe from the outside her daughter's journey and hopes to reunite with her one day soon.

Great movie for people who don't know much about the Catholic church and the changes they've made in attempt to be "more modern." One of the lesser know facts is over 90,000 nuns left their vocations during Vatican II due to those changes, one of which was nuns were no longer required to wear their habits. Word of caution: Not for younger viewers due to sex scenes.

Novitiate is a very solid debut film for Margaret Betts. It covers many themes from religion, faith, doubt, love, and internal turmoil of young girls who decide to devote their lives to God. The writing is good and the story moves fluently throughout the entire film with the exeption of maybe the last few minutes where things slow down a bit. Another positive thing about the writing is that it does not try to attack the church or ever turns into an anti-religion type of film. Everything is explored realistically. Especially the feelings of young girls who sometimes question their choices and ask themselves if it is really worth it. It is essentially a story about love, giving love, sometimes losing it and receiving it back. A vast topic but handled really well in my opinion. Another thing worth mentioning are the performances. All the actresses give great performances with Melissa Leo and Julianne Nicholson being the standouts. Recommended for that, good writing and solid direction.