Steineded How sad is this?

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

sjulieop-60650 I am a Catholic Dominican Sister and I watched this film with a mixture of horror and humor, thinking that yet again, a film, even in 2018, has depicted Catholic religious women as totally crazy in oh so many ways. My Sisters watched it and kept interrupting it with questions - "so-they make vows to become novices???? After six months?? And then, perpetual vows at the end of a year and a half of the novitiate? So, Cathleen is 19 and making a life commitment? You have got to be kidding me!!" I was a postulant for one year, a novice (white veil, no vows) for one year- then temporary vows for at least five years, then vowed for life. I was 30. No wonder these kids aren't sure - they are still teenagers!!! No one broke mirrors, no one made us crawl in shame, no one would laugh at a sister with dementia - where do they get this stuff???? Reverend Mother's House of Horrors - was there absolutely no one happy in that Convent - except for the Novice Director, who, of course, left. And no one to replace her to help these young women????And all of those Sisters left because of Vatican II? It had to be no more than a month, at most. They all jumped ship rather quickly! And they left because of Reverend Mother's three minute brutal summary of Vatican II, which actually lasted five years and produced volumes of documents. We studied the Vatican II documents for two years as Novices and Postulants. Mother's talk was enough for many to just pack up and leave??Can no one write a realistic film about a convent that isn't either as silly as Whoopie or as sadomasochistic as this one? Lord, help us!

Desertman84 I was really interested in Traditional Catholicism.I was lucky that I got to see this film entitled "Novitiate" to give me a better glimpse of what the Catholic Church is all about before Vatican II. Margaret Betts,who is in her directorial debut, presents to us a movie that stars Andie McDowell's daughter Margaret Qualley together with Julianne Nicholson and Melissa Leo,as the complex Reverend Mother, that tells the story of Cathleen,a young woman who obviously grew up in a broken family, that found comfort in God to meet her needs of love and decides to become a nun as well as how Pope John XXIII's Vatican II reforms severely affected the Catholic Church in both good and bad ways. While many viewers will see this as an anti-Catholic film especially people are not old enough to experience what Traditional Catholicism is all about during the 50's and the 60's when mass was said in Latin and the priest saying mass turned back to the crowd; the contributions that nuns brought to the American educational system; and how nuns truly tried to become perfect like Jesus Christ as well as how they punished themselves whenever they commit sins against God. Added to that, we also see Cathleen's transformation in life from being a little child to her journey on living the monastic life from being a postulant, a novitiate, and finally a nun. It also tells us what monastic life was all about pre-Vatican II and how the reforms somehow made the Catholic Church deteriorate as followers of Christ. No wonder that there are more than 14,000+ Protestant denominations today unlike in the past when there were probably only 1,000+. It also showed us how the reforms brought the worst on Cathleen as she struggles with these Vatican II reforms in more ways than one from her faith,the monastic life that she is accustomed too, and even in terms of her sexual desires as well as her identity as a nun as well as a Catholic.Aside from that,we are also brought to the issues of feminism especially when the Vatican II reforms were instituted as the nuns were not given any voice at all nor were asked of their opinion which was greatly characterized by the complex Reverend Mother,portrayed extremely well by Melissa Leo. At the end of the movie,we witnessed on how these reforms led to the mass exodus of 90,000 nuns from the convent. No wonder there is a shortage of both nuns and priests in the Catholic Church particularly in the United States at present. While the new Catholic Church has become open to the modern world, they definitely were hurt by these reforms as the changes brought less shepherds of Christ that led to the deterioration of Catholicism especially with less people becoming either priests or nuns.

beatriceyongyuexuan The film begins by following through the life of a young girl who never expected to become a nun. As a child, she was intentionally 'exposed' to religion by her somewhat religion-mocking mother. The young girl experiences some family issues and sees the unhappiness of her single mother who went through a failed marriage. It probably shaped her to desire a form of love that is more uncommon, a form of love that her single and unhappy mother doubts and mocks, and perhaps has less complications than if she were to be with another person - and chooses to be married to God. But as she grows she realises that she is worthy of more, and is capable of wanting more, that though it may be scary to love another living, breathing, feeling human being, it's real. I think that this is a film about change. How inevitable change is in our lives, and learning how to embrace change, even if it pushes us way out of our comfort zone; or if its just that we feel what we once felt does not really apply anymore, it is okay to say and act otherwise. That though we may have felt very certain about things before, something that could be so sacred and profound like religion - choosing to be married to God - can be changed if you eventually feel differently about things, that freedom is ultimately your own choice. It is shown in the film that at the end when the Vatican 2 changes were announced, many chose to leave. We may convince ourselves that there is a higher power, but see how more than one third of the nuns decided to leave, and not essentially held back by the ties to God. The film also shows how times are changing in our society. Before,the girls were forbidden to have any doubts, not allowed to question the things Reverend Mother does, even if it was immoral. The film progresses and the girls are seen to be full on voicing their doubts about God's existence in front of Mother during 'fault-confessing' sessions. Melissa Leo is incredible. She perfectly portrayed Reverend Mother, an unreasonable authoritative person who often feels her position is threatened. She seems to be fearful of losing the exaggerated beliefs that became her known way of life. Feeling the need to torment others the way she tormented herself, her behaviour seems to be that of a sadist and hypocrite. "Things are easier when they are stricter" applies to the world of Reverend Mother. When the vatican 2 announced that the nuns are free, the Reverend Mother feels lost, as there is no rules to forcefully follow through anymore. Overall an amazing film. Absolutely loved the tones and emotions of the film.

saj-43221 Where the hell do i start with this? No pun intended. Yes it is about nuns and Catholicism but it's also a human story. Yes the vehicle used to tell the story is religion but don't miss the point, like some others have reviewing it. I, being a Muslim, so some similarities with what my faith is currently going through reflected in the movie. Remember love evolves with regards to its current climate, carrying humanity with it. Lovely film.