Lennie_G

I am a little puzzled as to why this movie's average rating is as high as it is. It is evident from the screen writing, that Sturgis wanted to be exceedingly clever with a dialogue. But what he seems to have neglected is any rational conversation between, the cast members. In scene ever seen the actors talk past each other as if they were not expecting an answer. Long explanations of events and opinions that do not belong in the conversation. Frequently, the characters begin speaking before the other person in the dialogue finishes their sentence. It is as if each person is so highly impressed with what they have to say or what they will have to say, that they disregard the person they're talking to. This greatly distracts from what is a good story.

A Nun's Story must be primarily appreciated as a cinematic achievement of direction and cinematography. The detailed filming of Catholic liturgy and the scenes in the Congo make it compelling. However, make no mistake - A Nun's Story is anti Catholic. The story spares no opportunity to dramatize an unforgiving rule-governed environment of a convent and the humiliation visited upon Audrey Hepburn's character. She is repeatedly made to feel inferior and guilty. This serves to substantiate the image of the church as a dispassionate and controlling institution. When Audrey Hepburns character finally decides to leave the church because she can no longer reconcile her desire to act in a moral way while observing the strictures of faith within the convent, the film makers create scenes in which she is made to feel a failure. My experience with religious people is an odds with this portrayal. In the last scenes, the movie deteriorates into another one of thousands of Nazi movies that demonstrates our heroine was right and the church was wrong.

The various synopses of this movie would lead you to believe it is about a tragic romance. Fundamentally it is an expose and castigation of the British class system through the lens of a love story. As such, it does a terrific job. It is dramatic, human, and suspenseful. Lawrence Harvey's acting prowess is on display as the vulnerable yet resentful young man trying to break free of his class. His seething performance gives the movie an edge that is not only dramatic, but unpredictable. British film has a long and successful history of dramatic movies. It is deserved, especially its production actors.