Summary

From the acclaimed director of Orphans, comes The Magdalene Sisters, a powerful and emotional journey, charting several years in the young lives of four `fallen women' who find themselves incarcerated by the Catholic Church. While women's liberation is sweeping the globe, these women are stripped of their liberty and dignity and condemned to indefinite sentences of work in The Magdalene Laundries, in order to atone for their sins. Co. Dublin. Ireland, 1964, the scene is set for a perfect family wedding. The priest sings a ballad as the bride and groom watch, and the musicians receive an enthusiastic response from the wedding guests. Enjoying the festivities, Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff) curiously follows her cousin Kevin (Sean McDonough) into a small room, where he forcefully holds her down and rapes her. Back in the wedding Margaret confesses to her friend and the news sweeps through the wedding, while Kevin is chastised, Margaret's father explains to the priest what has happened. She has shamed her family and is carted off in the early hours of the morning by the priest to the Magdalene Asylum, watched by her young brother Eamonn (Ciaran Owens), who is confused by his sister's abrupt departure. He exclaims, "Where is father taking Margaret?" as her mother watches, helpless to intervene. Meanwhile Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone), who has just reached adulthood in St Attracta's Orphanage, is unaware that her blossoming good looks are undermining her future. While she is fawned over by the younger girls at the orphanage, Bernadette also attracts the attention of the local factory boys. Fearing Bernadette to be a bad influence on the impressionable young girls and an unacceptable temptation to the wilful young men, the principle decides to remove Bernadette from the Orphanage and send her to the Magdalene Laundry as a more suitable home for a temptress. Rose (Dorothy Duffy) has just given birth to a little boy. Her mother is present but completely impassive, Rose begs her mother to look at the baby, she acknowledges the sin of giving birth out of wedlock, but her mother is steadfast. Her father arrives a having brought a priest with him and the priest convinces Rose that her son would be better off raised by a `good' Catholic family. She signs the form, but when the priest takes her baby away she instantly regrets her decision and cries out for her baby, struggling desperately but restrained by her father. Margaret, Rose and Bernadette arrive at the Magdalene together; their clothes now in boxes are exchanged for dowdy brown uniforms. Sister Bridget (Geraldine McEwan) explains how they will atone for their sins and be saved from eternal damnation by a regimented life of work and prayer, as she sits at her desk counting the money taken by the laundry business. Margaret questions her father's decision to leave her there, which is answered quite clearly by Sister Bridget's brutal insults. She re-names Rose - Patricia, because they already have a girl named Rose. After prayers that night in their locked dormitory, Patricia collapses under the strain of having just given birth, her breasts painfully swollen with milk. Bernadette offers her assistance but they soon learn that friendship and even conversation is frowned upon. Early the next morning the girls are woken suddenly, as Sister Jude (Frances Healy) searches for Una, whom it transpires has escaped in the night. Sister Bridget is livid and her outburst at breakfast shocks both the girls and the other nuns. Bernadette notices that the nuns allow themselves a lavish breakfast, while the working women have only porridge. The women are soon hard at work in the laundry, watched over by Katy (Britta Smith) who has been working the laundry for 40 years. Crispina (Eileen Walsh), a simple girl working next to Bernadette, refuses to wash the priest's collars and swaps them for some bloody towels from Bernadette's pile of laundry. Bernadette, who is becoming aware of the reality of her situation, says she is determined to escape. Margaret quietly has the same idea, but her attempt to leave later that night is thwarted by Una's (Mary Murray) abrupt return to the dormitory by her father (Peter Mullan). He beats and disowns his daughter, telling Una she has no family or home. He calls the other women whores and leaves. Margaret changes back into her nightshirt beside Una, sharing her moment of defeat. The van arrives at the Magdalene, full of dirty laundry, collected from local businesses. Brendan (Chris Simpson) assumes all the girls are `hookers and whores' and is told not to look or talk to the girls at the Magdalene by his boss, Seamus (Sean Colgan). The girls help unload and load the van, avoiding contact with an eager Brendan. While Patricia and Crispina are hanging out washing Crispina's sister appears at the Magdalene gates with Crispina's son where they communicate through their twin St Christopher medallions. The delivery van is unloading its laundry and Bernadette attacks Brendan after he sexually propositions her. She is infuriated by his assumption that she is promiscuous. In the laundry Crispina and Patricia become acquainted, but Crispina is chastised and brought before Sister Bridget along with Bernadette who has demanded to be seen. Sister Bridget is in the process of cutting off Una's hair. Bernadette challenges Sister Bridget's decision to keep her there, when she hasn't even committed a sin. She is however punished together with Crispina by being whipped on the back of the legs. As Sister Bridget asserts her authority Bernadette's hatred of the Magdalene deepens. Vowing to escape by any means possible, Bernadette decides to enlist Brendan's help by flirting and kissing him behind the out-buildings, suggesting that they run away together. Brendan unwittingly promises to come back that night to unlock the laundry door. Bernadette is seen by Old Katy who threatens to tell Sister Bridget `what a disgusting girl' Bernadette is. She manages to dissuade Katy by saying that she'll kill herself if she tells, thus making Katy a murderer and sinner. That night Brendan panics and fails to unlock the laundry door at the critical moment, leaving a desperate Bernadette to the wrath of Sister Bridget. She is punished most severely by a violent cutting of her hair and scalp. Time passes, work and business continues. New electric driers are delivered and blessed by Father Fitzroy (Daniel Costello). One evening the girls are lined up naked in the laundry to be taunted and humiliated by the nuns, their bodies insulted and callously compared much to the hilarity of the nuns. The girls are deeply humiliated, especially Crispina who is devastated and begins a series of suicide attempts, which worsen when she loses her St Christopher. Bernadette who has found and kept the St Christopher, says nothing despite Crispina's torment. Patricia tries to encourage Crispina to live by telling her how sad her son was when she wasn't at the gates that day and Margaret promises to find her medallion for her. On the way to the chapel to attend Una's ordination service, Margaret accidentally glimpses Father Fitzroy receiving oral sex from Crispina. The women then receive holy communion from him. After the service Father Fitzroy films the girls and nuns playing games with his super 8 camera. Margaret tells Crispina that he is not a man of God, then sneaks away to collect some infectious plants to wash with Father Fitzroy's robes. While collecting the plants she discovers an open gate in the garden wall, which leads out of the grounds. She is presented the opportunity to escape but panics at the actuality of freedom and she poignantly chooses to remain imprisoned. Rejoining Crispina, she discovers Bernadette has convinced the impressionable woman that someone has stolen her St Christopher. On searching the dormitory Margaret discovers that Bernadette had stolen the medallion and the two clash violently. Crispina is only delighted to have her medallion returned. The girls dressed up in capes and veils are brought on the Corpus Christie parade surrounded by the Guarda, through the local village. They are paraded through the streets and judged by the villagers lining the street before being brought to the park for a special Mass. The service disintegrates when Father Fitzroy is overcome by an irritating rash and tears off his clothes, scratching uncontrollably. Margaret's amusement at her little prank quickly turns to horror, as Crispina also starts scratching between her legs and hysterically shouting , "You are not a man of God" at Father Fitzroy. That night Crispina is violently removed from the Magdalene and taken away to Mount Vernon Hospital for the insane. The seasons change and as winter tightens it's grip, a modest Christmas celebration takes place, in the form of a film screening. The girls are amused and surprised by Sister Bridget's excitement and candid display of emotion as they watch the Archbishop's film choice of, The Bells of St Mary's. The film is however interrupted by the arrival of Margaret's brother Eamonn (Eamonn Owens), who has come to take her away. Unable to object, Sister Bridget is forced to watch a shocked Margaret leave the room. In the dormitory the other girls watch blankly as Margaret leaves with her brother. Margaret has one final confrontation with Sister Bridget when she refuses to step aside to let her pass in the corridor. Margaret kneels and prays and forces the embittered Sister and entourage to step around her and she leaves the Magdalene forever. Katy takes terribly ill in the laundry as the rest of the women return to their daily routine. In another part of the Magdalene, Patricia sees new girls who have arrived have their infants taken away. She goes to see Sister Bridget, who is frantically looking for a lost key, to ask permission to send a birthday card to her own son. Her request is declined. Katy confesses her life story to Bernadette as she lies on her deathbed, Bernadette, showing no sympathy, wishes her dead. Patricia is caught trying to tell Crispina's sister that Crispina has been taken away. Bernadette goes to inform Sister Bridget of Katy's death to discover Patricia being beaten senseless for speaking to Crispina's sister. The girls are then sent back to work. Later that night Bernadette decides she can no longer tolerate life at Magdalene. She persuades a reluctant Patricia to attempt an escape, they break out of the dormitory and into Sister Bridget's office. Sister Bridget appears in her nightgown and they fight a frenzied battle. Bernadette holds scissors to the Sister's throat, threatening to kill her if she does not give up the main door key. Finally she trades the door key for the safe key, which is held by Patricia and the girls run for their lives. They break through the outer gate and escape over the fields to to the outskirts of Dublin, where Bernadette's cousin runs a hair salon. Bernadette decides to stay with her cousin and become a hairdresser, eager to take up the respectable position in society that has so far been denied her. Patricia boards a bus for Liverpool, England, to start a new life. The girls wish each other good luck, promise to write to each other and part. Bernadette is sheltering from the rain when she comes face to face with two nuns. Still scarred from her experiences in the Magdalene, she has flash backs of the violence she experienced. Realising they can't touch her she steps out into the rain, runs her fingers through her hair and tastes the freedom that is now hers. BERNADETTE: Soon moved to Scotland where she opened her own salon. She was married and divorced three times. She now lives alone. PATRICIA/ROSE: married and had two children, both girls. She found her son in 1995, 32 years after he was taken. She remained a devout Catholic until she died in 1998. MAGARET: Settled in Donegal, where she became a Primary School teacher. Today she is assistant headmistress. She never married. CRISPINA: Real name Harriet, died of anorexia in 1971. She was 24 years old. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 women were detained at Magdalene Asylums throughout Ireland. The last laundry closed in 1996.