Directed and
co-written by Guillaume Nicioux from the adaptation of an anti-clerical novel
written by Denis Diderot which was intended as a practical joke ‘a compilation of letters he sent to a devout
fiend in the guise of a desperate nun looking to leave the sisterhood’[1].
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| Mother reveals her secret to her daughter. |
The story is
set in 1760's France and reveals the dehumanising effect of
cloistered life on a
young girl. The young girl in question is the daughter of a once rich bourgeois
family; her mother
(German actress Martina Gedeck) admits that Suzanne is illegitimate. Because of
the family's financial problems and her mother's deep feeling of guilt Suzanne Simonin
(Pauline Etienne) is committed to a nunnery, very much against her will. When
the kindly but manipulating Mother Superior Madame de Moni (Francoise Lebrun)
dies the replacement turns out to be sadistic and cruel, compelling Suzanne to becomes
ever more rebellious
and strongly resisting the rules of the convent. Sister Christine (Louise Bourgoin) inflicts
the worst forms of humiliation making her wear a hair shirt, administering
beatings and depriving her of food and clothing. After complaining about her
treatment Suzanne is transferred to another convent, where she discovers
another kind of Mother Superior (the award winning Isabelle
Huppert) one who tries to instigate an inappropriate affection towards her charge.
 |
| Although Suzanne has a devout faith she objects to being sent away. |
The Nun (2013) tells
the story of a young woman trying to resist imposed religious values, revealing,
as I have said, the dehumanising
effect of a cloistered life. The
highlight of this female led period drama is the scene steeling, over the top
performance from Ms Huppert who demands more than faith from our pretty
heroine? The film attempts to deal with not only the fanaticism and power of
the Catholic Church but also the restricting class structures of 18 century
France. It premiered in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film
Festival and won a Best Actress Award for Pauline Etienne.
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| Mother Superior forces her attentions! |
[1] Henry Barnes.
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