Novitiate
Directed by: Margaret Betts
Written by: Margaret Betts
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Melissa Leo, Morgan Saylor, Julianne Nicholson, Liana Liberato, Diana Agron, Rebecca Dayan, Eline Powell, Maddie Hasson, Chelsea Lopez, Ashley Bell, Denis O'Hare
Drama - 123 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 2 Nov 2017
Written by: Margaret Betts
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Melissa Leo, Morgan Saylor, Julianne Nicholson, Liana Liberato, Diana Agron, Rebecca Dayan, Eline Powell, Maddie Hasson, Chelsea Lopez, Ashley Bell, Denis O'Hare
Drama - 123 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 2 Nov 2017
Brow furrowed and looking borderline panicked behind her desk, the Reverend Mother (Melissa Leo, London Has Fallen) cannot understand why the Catholic Chuch, as rock solid an institution as they come, needs these ridiculous Vatican II reforms. Obviously, she never saw the movies The Magdalene Sisters (2002) or Philomena (2013). In the surprisingly large canon of films about nuns, these two stick out the most for reasons nuns required some reformation back in the mid-‘60s. Novitiate is not about Catholic cruelty or nun-on-nun crime; it explores the training young women endure on the path to become a Bride of Christ. It’s a love story with God as the romantic object. Neither showing the girls basking in glowing halos nor depicting them as deluded shells of psychoses, first time director Margaret Betts doesn’t take sides; she offers up what the Catholic transition may have looked like to girls undergoing their own transformations.
There are plenty of cinematic nun examples to compare and contrast Novitiate’s characters with. There are the hardworking nuns in Black Narcissus, the educators in Doubt, Polish novices in Ida, and even the wacky choir in Sister Act. Whoopi Goldberg’s comrades in song are about as far removed from the girls in Novitiate as you can get. Introducing herself to the ‘postulents’ on day one, Reverend Mother says, “Since unfortunately God cannot be here to run this convent Himself, my voice will serve as a stand-in for His.” Whoa, might want to stay on her good side. For if you question her decisions or raise your eyebrows at her stark vision for the future, are you not questioning God Himself?
There are plenty of cinematic nun examples to compare and contrast Novitiate’s characters with. There are the hardworking nuns in Black Narcissus, the educators in Doubt, Polish novices in Ida, and even the wacky choir in Sister Act. Whoopi Goldberg’s comrades in song are about as far removed from the girls in Novitiate as you can get. Introducing herself to the ‘postulents’ on day one, Reverend Mother says, “Since unfortunately God cannot be here to run this convent Himself, my voice will serve as a stand-in for His.” Whoa, might want to stay on her good side. For if you question her decisions or raise your eyebrows at her stark vision for the future, are you not questioning God Himself?
Leading us through the training is Sister Cathleen (Margaret Qualley, The Nice Guys). Cathleen did not grow up in a religious household, but found the tranquility in her Catholic School sanctuary as the place she felt most comfortable in. Staring at a statue of a kind-looking and benevolent Jesus is where she receives her calling. Concerning the motivations of her peers, one girl says every generation of her family ‘sacrifices’ one child to the church, and others appear to enjoy the exclusivity and specialness of their connection to the Almighty. Before Vatican II placed everyone on the same plane including clergy, nun, and layman, nuns held extra-special status in the queue for salvation.
Sister Cathleen learns to keep her eyes pointed toward the ground to avoid distractions lest they interfere with her communication with God. She learns about regular silence throughout the day and Grand Silence at night. Add all of this isolating behavior together and it will affect a novice’s mental state. These are already girls with extremist, romantic personalities; pressure them under silence, obedience, and the lack of comfort, some of them may start to crack.
In Cathleen’s case, she frets she is not good enough to become a Bride of Christ. The relentless effort to do better morphs into physical and emotional pain as the guilt about not feeling God’s love gnaws at her. Novitiate’s most intense scenes are the Chapter of Faults. The girls kneel in a semi-circle around Reverend Mother and take turns confessing their deepest sins; it makes the infamous North Korean self-criticism sessions seem tame in comparison. In a remarkable 13-minute take, Sister Evelyn (Morgan Saylor, McFarland, USA) is raked over the coals for saying her sins are merely lack of concentration and vanity. Reverend Mother is sure there are juicier bits hiding in there and public shame is how she will reach them.
Betts won the Breakthrough Director Award at Sundance and creates an absorbing story following girls who experience the same euphoria and depression as every other girl on Earth; yet, all of their ups and downs focus on the most particular boy in history rather than the boy next door. While the ideas and new direction of Vatican II are the reason Betts set the film when she did, the central themes are about the girls and their respective adaptations to the convent. Reverend Mother is not a one-dimensional villain and none of the girls are pristine saints. Betts avoids thematic pitfalls like horror-film nun caricatures and lesbian nun fantasies. She follows a steady, even keel showing us the beauty and the struggles of donning the habit.
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