Video Reviews: 'Gothika,' 'Magdalene Sisters'
Berry Thriller Classic Nail-Biter
POSTED: 5:18 p.m. EST March 23, 2004
'Gothika' (R): Do you ever wake up from a nightmare and feel so relieved it wasn't real? Well then, prepare yourself to live out Halle Berry's mind-bending nightmare in "Gothika," a hyper-intense thriller that will surely find you gnawing your fingernails from the start of the film to the end..
Berry stars as Dr. Miranda Grey, a psychiatrist who, after a horrifying encounter on a bridge one rainy night on her way home from work, wakes up to find herself a patient in her own mental health facility. She's being accused of a brutal crime, but has no memory of it whatsoever.
The problem is, since Grey is now on the other side of the doctor-patient equation, no one believes her. And many of the circumstances around the crime implicate her as the perpetrator.
Complimented by a haunting atmosphere and a spine-tingling score, "Gothika" is a classic psychological thriller that's bound to keep you guessing throughout the film. Credit that to crafty script by Sebastian Gutierrez and moody direction by Mathieu Kassovitz -- a pair of filmmakers who forgo any conventional filmmaking paths and are obviously striving to create a film that's anything but predictable.
Contributing huge brushstrokes to the filmmakers' canvas are brilliant acting turns by Berry, Robert Downey Jr. as a fellow psychiatrist, and Penelope Cruz as a disturbed patient at the institution. The only downfall in the film is in story construction, when Downey -- who has a huge presence in the film -- mysteriously disappears from the action about halfway through, only to return at the film's disturbing climax.
DVD Features: A fascinating commentary track featuring Kassovitz and cinematographer Matthew Libatique on the making of the film; Limp Bizkit music video and more.
'The Magdalene Sisters' (R): Get ready for a draining emotional experience with "The Magdalene Sisters," a compelling drama that tells the true story of Ireland's Magdalene laundries (also referred to as Magdalene Asylums) -- church-run facilities where Catholic girls accused of "moral crimes" against society were sent to atone for their sexual sins. Sadly, some inmates remained there indefinitely if their parents didn't choose to take them back out of feelings of shame within the community.
Irish actress Nora-Jane Noone (pictured, right) stars as Bernadette, a teenage orphan committed to the Magdalene Asylum because of her flirtatious nature. Bernadette is joined at the laundry by Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff), who was raped by her cousin at a family wedding; and Rose (Dorothy Duffy), who had a child out of wedlock.
Established in 1840 as a place for unwed mothers, prostitutes and women of dubious chastity, the power of asylums was transferred in the 20th century to the Sisters of Mercy. Under the intense, if not heart-sickening direction of Peter Mullan, the film depicts those nuns as strict disciplinarians who ruled the laundries with brutal mental and physical punishments -- account officials from the Catholic Church has reportedly disputed.
Sure to stir up more controversy with its video release, it's important to point out that "The Magdalene Sisters" isn't an anti-Catholic movie, but a movie about very bad people who happen to be nuns, caught up within a system of silence that few had the courage to challenge. In the end, "The Magdalene Sisters" is a powerful but disturbing story of history that's been seldom told and, at times, very difficult to watch. It may not be a pleasant movie to watch, but it's an important one.
DVD Features: A documentary about the Magdalene laundries, and more.
Berry stars as Dr. Miranda Grey, a psychiatrist who, after a horrifying encounter on a bridge one rainy night on her way home from work, wakes up to find herself a patient in her own mental health facility. She's being accused of a brutal crime, but has no memory of it whatsoever.
The problem is, since Grey is now on the other side of the doctor-patient equation, no one believes her. And many of the circumstances around the crime implicate her as the perpetrator.
Complimented by a haunting atmosphere and a spine-tingling score, "Gothika" is a classic psychological thriller that's bound to keep you guessing throughout the film. Credit that to crafty script by Sebastian Gutierrez and moody direction by Mathieu Kassovitz -- a pair of filmmakers who forgo any conventional filmmaking paths and are obviously striving to create a film that's anything but predictable.
Contributing huge brushstrokes to the filmmakers' canvas are brilliant acting turns by Berry, Robert Downey Jr. as a fellow psychiatrist, and Penelope Cruz as a disturbed patient at the institution. The only downfall in the film is in story construction, when Downey -- who has a huge presence in the film -- mysteriously disappears from the action about halfway through, only to return at the film's disturbing climax.
DVD Features: A fascinating commentary track featuring Kassovitz and cinematographer Matthew Libatique on the making of the film; Limp Bizkit music video and more.
'The Magdalene Sisters' (R): Get ready for a draining emotional experience with "The Magdalene Sisters," a compelling drama that tells the true story of Ireland's Magdalene laundries (also referred to as Magdalene Asylums) -- church-run facilities where Catholic girls accused of "moral crimes" against society were sent to atone for their sexual sins. Sadly, some inmates remained there indefinitely if their parents didn't choose to take them back out of feelings of shame within the community.
Irish actress Nora-Jane Noone (pictured, right) stars as Bernadette, a teenage orphan committed to the Magdalene Asylum because of her flirtatious nature. Bernadette is joined at the laundry by Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff), who was raped by her cousin at a family wedding; and Rose (Dorothy Duffy), who had a child out of wedlock.
Established in 1840 as a place for unwed mothers, prostitutes and women of dubious chastity, the power of asylums was transferred in the 20th century to the Sisters of Mercy. Under the intense, if not heart-sickening direction of Peter Mullan, the film depicts those nuns as strict disciplinarians who ruled the laundries with brutal mental and physical punishments -- account officials from the Catholic Church has reportedly disputed.
Sure to stir up more controversy with its video release, it's important to point out that "The Magdalene Sisters" isn't an anti-Catholic movie, but a movie about very bad people who happen to be nuns, caught up within a system of silence that few had the courage to challenge. In the end, "The Magdalene Sisters" is a powerful but disturbing story of history that's been seldom told and, at times, very difficult to watch. It may not be a pleasant movie to watch, but it's an important one.
DVD Features: A documentary about the Magdalene laundries, and more.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
