Movie Reaction: Novitiate

Formula: The Little Hours ^ -1

I'm not sure Vatican II is as well known as I think it is. I was raised Catholic. I went to Catholic school for 12 years and went through all the early sacraments. None of it stuck, but I am still well versed in the faith whether I like it or not. Vatican II is something I'm very aware of. I don't think non-Catholics are as casually aware of it though. For the unacquainted, Vatican II is essentially the set of reforms in the 1960s that brought Catholicism into the 20th century (or at least the 16th). The biggest changes I think of are mass no longer being said in Latin and priests no longer having their backs to the congregation . Perhaps the people most profoundly affected by the reforms however were the nuns, who saw their entire identity change as a result, which is what make Novitiate such an interesting idea for a movie.

You see, Novitiate is set in a convent in the 1960s, right as the Vatican II reforms were coming out. The film actually ends up being a few different types of film at the same time. First and foremost, it the story of a young girl, Sister Cathleen (Margaret Qualley), trying to understand her relationship with God as she trains to become a nun. Second, it's a pretty traditional boot camp movie, with Reverend Mother Marie St. Clair (Melissa Leo) as Sister Cathleen's domineering drillmaster. Lastly, it's about the final days of a certain way of life. All three stories are well told and balanced. However, they do make for a very busy movie that struggles with focus.

I'm a sucker for a good boot camp movie. While it isn't Stripes, Novitiate has plenty of the things I enjoy about that kind of movie. All the young women have their own unique stories. Qualley is the "true believer". Morgan Saylor plays a woman "sacrificed" by her family. Liana Liberato is probably built the best for the "real world" of any of them. Eline Powell is sort of the teacher's pet. They even get a mysterious outsider (Lacy Hartselle) who transfers in midway through. Mother St. Clair is the bad cop. Sister Mary Grace (Dianna Agron) is the good cop.  I like the familiar characters and story beats in a setting I've never seen before. During any time period other than when this film is set, this would've been a straightforward movie about getting to graduation day, winning over Mother St. Clair, and getting the guy (in this case, "the guy" is God). That isn't what the movie is building toward though. The Vatican II reforms hang over this film like the sword of Damocles. The convent functions as normal while Mother St. Clair does everything she can to protest or ignore the reform. She doesn't even tell anyone else about them for a long time. Leo is really great in this role. She's pretty horrible to just about everyone, which the movie doesn't let her off the hook for, but there is a method to her madness. She has a specific understanding of the world. It's not an easy understanding or a nice one, but it makes sense to her. When the world starts the shift around her, she doubles down on what she's spent decades believing is the absolute divine truth. It's pretty heartbreaking.

I'm still undecided about the movie, and I think most of that comes from Qualley's story. I think Qualley is great in the movie. She's asked to say a lot without speaking. It actually reminded me a lot of what she did on The Leftovers, internalizing everything she could. The problem I ran into is that some of the later beats in her story don't feel entirely earned. They start a whole subplot with her and Lucy Hartselle's Sister Theresa way too late and it's awkwardly inserted. When she reaches her inevitable crises of faith, it surprised me more than it should've.

I don't know what the point of this movie is. I don't know if it's pro nun or anti-nun, pro Vatican II or anti-Vatican II, pro-faith or anti-faith. I'm not even sure how much of that is supposed to be vague and how much is supposed to be clear. It's definitely saying the life of a nun in this era was hard, but the women signed up for hard. They chose the life because they believed it would bring them closer to god. So many of the woman fail and the film is filled with good reasons for them to fail. It's fair to say that all the women would be happier if they left the convent, but is that necessarily better? It's the classic success vs. happiness debate, only with a different kind of success than what we're used to. I left the film with more questions than answers, and with a first time filmmaker, I don't know what to do with that. These questions could be directorial intent or they could be a sign of a director trying to take on more than she could handle. I'm feeling like it's 70% the former and 30% the latter. I may need a rewatch to be sure.

Overall, I think Novitiate is pretty good. It's shot nicely. The costuming and production design all look right for the era. It is packed with talented actresses all doing really good work. I'm excited to see what writer/director Margaret Betts does next. I just wish I left the movie with a little more idea what the point of it was.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend