Agnes of God

Agnes of God
Agnes of God original film poster
Directed by	Norman Jewison
Produced by	Norman Jewison, Patrick J. Palmer
Written by	John Pielmeier
Starring	Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	21 August 1985
Running time	98 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

Agnes of God is a play by John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the dead child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent clash during the resulting investigation.

The play was made into a movie in 1985, starring Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly. It was adapted by Pielmeier, and directed by Norman Jewison. It was mainly filmed in Montreal.

It was nominated for Academy Awards for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" (Anne Bancroft), "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" (Meg Tilly) and "Best Music, Original Score".

Plot

Meg Tilly won a Golden Globe and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the portrayal of Sister Agnes in Agnes of God.

Pielmeier's plot features Sister Agnes, a young and ignorant novice of French ethnicity, molested by her mother as a child, who sings in an ethereal voice and was impregnated by an unknown entity, which makes for much of the mystery of the drama.

The play has enjoyed a revival among Catholic women's groups, who believe it examines important moral and spiritual issues that Catholic women must face. The issues raised by the real-life incident are just as compelling, though less dramatic.

Background

This drama is widely believed to be based on an actual incident, which occurred in a convent in Brighton, New York, just outside the city line of Rochester.

However, Sister Maureen, the nun who killed her baby, was thirty-six years old, Irish, and well-educated. She was a Montessori teacher in New York state, which required teachers to obtain bachelor's degrees and to be certified. In order to obtain permanent certification, teachers also required a Master's degree in education.

Sister Maureen denied she had given birth; when examined by medical staff, she said she couldn't remember being pregnant. She had covered up the pregnancy by wearing the traditional nun's habit. The baby was found dead in her small convent room in a waste basket, asphyxiated.

The police found ticket stubs and other information in the nun's convent room indicating that precisely nine months earlier she had traveled out of state to an educational conference. While during the trial, the father of the baby was never named, it was never suggested that the nun had been raped by a priest.

At her trial, Sister Maureen waived her right to a jury, and Judge Hyman Maas, a Jew, presided. There was a great deal of controversy about whether a Jewish judge would give a Catholic nun a fair trial. The trial was over in ten days, and Maas found the nun innocent of all charges by reason of insanity in March 1977.

The convent where the murder occurred is adjacent to the still-functioning suburban parish and school. The girl's high school, St. Agnes, where some of the nuns taught, is closed[1].

Memorable Quotes from Movie

Doctor Martha Livingston: Today's my birthday. I always make bad decisions on my birthday.

Martha: Suppose the saints would have smoked if tobacco'd been popular back then?
Mother Miriam Ruth: Undoubtably. Not the ascetics, of course, but, well, St. Thomas More.
Martha: Long, thin, and filtered!

Martha: Agnes, it's all right. I love you.
Sister Agnes: As much as Mother Miriam loves me?
Martha: As much as God loves you.

Filming

The film was filmed at the former Rockwood Academy in Rockwood, Ontario, Canada and in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Screenshots

Image:Aogod0.jpg‎ Image:Aogod1.jpg‎

Image:Agnes01s.jpg‎ Image:Agnes02s.jpg‎ Image:Agnes03s.jpg‎ Image:Agnes06s.jpg‎

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Main Cast

Supporting Cast

External links

• Agnes of God at the Internet Movie Database (Full Cast available)
• Agnes of God at Rotten Tomatoes
• Transcript of the movie.

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