Themes: Members of the Clergy, Death of a Child, Message From God
Main Cast: Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly, Anne Pitoniak, Winston Rekert
Release Year: 1985
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Agnes of God is an "opened up" adaptation of the minimalist stage play by John Pielmeier. Meg Tilly plays a young nun who secretly gives birth to a baby; the child's body is later found strangled to death. Court-appointed psychiatrist Jane Fonda is sent to the convent to investigate, a task made difficult by the weathervane behavior of mother superior Anne Bancroft. To draw out Tilly, who remembers nothing of the birth, Fonda suggests that hypnosis is called for. Playwright Pielmeier poses many questions--is Tilly a pure-and-simple murderess, or was there something "divine" in her act?--but offers frustratingly few answers. The evocative photography is by longtime Ingmar Bergman associate Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Gratien Gelinas - Father Martineau; Guy Hoffman - Justice Joseph Leveau; Gabriel Arcand - Monsignor; Francoise Faucher - Eve LeClaire; Jacques Tourangeau - Eugene Lyon; Françoise Berd - Sister Therese; Jacqueline Blais - Sister David Marie; Norma dell'Agnese - Sister Genevieve; Victor Desy - Librarian; Janine Fluet - Sister Marguerite; Michele George - Sister Susanna; Deborah Grover - Sister Anne; Jennifer Jewison - Female Patient; Samantha Langevin - Sister Jeannine; Charlotte Laurier - Young Prostitute; Laurel Lyle - Helen the Receptionist; André Lacoste - Male Patient; France Arbour - Housekeeper; Nicole Marie Abbat - Sister Genevieve's Family Member; Matthew Armstrong - Sister Genevieve's Family Member; Janice Bryan - Sister Mary Joseph; Carole Chatel - Lab Technician; Mimi D'Estee - Sister Elizabette; Mark Denis - Newscaster; Lillian Graham - Sister Madeline Marie; Gerry Huckstep - Paramedic; Peter Langley - Sister Genevieve's Family Member; Herbert Luft - TV Reporter; Chava Mandlsohn - Sister Genevieve's Family Member; Agnes Middleton - Sister Paul; Muguette Moreau - Sister Luke; Charles S. Pottie - Sister Genevieve's Family Member; Daniel Tremblay - Police Detective; Rita Tuckett - Sister Geraldine
Credit
Carol Spier - Art Director, Renee April - Costume Designer, Norman Jewison - Director, Antony Gibbs - Editor, Georges Delerue - Composer (Music Score), Ken Adam - Production Designer, Sven Nykvist - Cinematographer, Norman Jewison - Producer, Bonnie Palef-Woolf - Producer, Patrick Palmer - Producer, Jaro Dick - Set Designer, John Pielmeier - Screenwriter
