I got into my new flannel pajamas, put on my new fur-lined slippers, had a bit of chicken parmasan, a glass of wine (in my new blue-glass wineglasses - thanks Jean!) ... sat in bed with my laptop next to me ... and watched The Magdalene Sisters - one of the more wrenching movies I have seen in a long while. Jesusmaryandjoseph. Happy birthday indeed. Eileen Walsh's performance is a tour de force. (She's the one on the right here.) It's the kind of acting that I not only love but HUNGER to see. She is outrageously good, without having that whole American "watch me gun for an oscar" crap. If you look at her IMDB page, there's not a lot there. Amazing. Baffling. That was just flat out some of the best acting I have ever seen. The last shot of the film is hers ... and she's not one of the main 3 girls ... poor poor Crispina ... God. What an interesting character. Marvelous work. Riveting. She's so so so so good. Everyone's good. Geraldine McEwan as Sister Bridget, the head bitch of the Magdalene Laundry, is terrifying. But in that very specific way where she's a real character, a real person ... not just a caricature of a scary nun. She seems truly dangerous. Oh, and there's not one primary color in the palette of this film. Not ONE. It's all greys and dull greens and browns. It becomes relentless. You start to ache for some bright yellow, some indigo, some crimson.
I kinda couldn't sleep though after seeing it. I lay in bed thinking about Eileen Walsh, her acting, and also about the character she played. It was haunting. Haunting.
If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. If I could do it over again - would I watch it on my birthday? Uhm, no.
Posted by sheilaits on my netflix..not sure where...have u ever heard the Joni Mitchell song...The Magdelaine Laundries??? its so sad and beautiful.
Posted by: mitchell at November 28, 2006 8:39 AMMitchell - what are you doing up??
Yes, I have heard that song - wonderful, horrible. On the great Chieftains tribute album - where they have all different kinds of people singing either traditional Irish songs (Joan Osborne does a wonderful Raglan Road) or reciting poetry with traditional Irish music in the background - the Joni Mitchell song is the only one where the Chieftains asked her to play HER song and THEY would accompany HER. Pretty wild, huh?
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 8:43 AMAnd Mitchell - wait until you see this Eileen Walsh's acting. It's as good as it gets ... it's emotionally powerful, but she also creates this CHARACTER - she never ever seems to be "acting". Nobody does in the movie - but her character is really out there, she's kind of simple, not all THERE ... not the brightest bulb, perhaps ... but a deeply tormented woman whose entire life and salvation revolves around her little St. Christopher necklace ... Bah, I can't describe it ... but she is just phenomenal.
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 8:44 AMHappy, happy, happy Birthday! I know I don't visit your site nearly enough but always enjoy it when I do. I think I lurk more than I comment. Bad me! I hope you have/had a fantastic birthday and a great upcoming holiday season!
Posted by: Carl V. at November 28, 2006 8:50 AMThanks, Carl! I love your site too - there's always something interesting and beautiful (I love the art you find) over there. :)
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 8:51 AMHappy Day After Birthday Sheila! I think I've actually seen part of this movie - it sounded familiar as I was reading your post, and I when I clicked on the link I recognized some of the images they have up at IMDB. Now I'd like to see the whole thing.
Posted by: Jayne at November 28, 2006 8:56 AMJayne - ack, I meant to email you back yesterday - but then totally forgot. I had a very Happy apathetic Mary Magdalene Birthday!!! hahahaha
I was just thankful that I was never IN one of those places. Holy mother of God, what a nightmare!!
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 8:58 AMThe scene I remember was one of the girls sneaking off and going home, only to have her father drag her back to the asylum...I don't remember any more, but the whole feel of it was so gloomy and awful. It stayed with me, obviously. Perfect for a birthday celebration! hahahaha
Posted by: Jayne at November 28, 2006 9:08 AMim up becuase i have a dentist appt..its the first time in 15 yrs that im getting work(other than a cleaning)done by someone other than Michelle and im nervous..i have to get an large filling replaced with a gold-inlay..no fun!
Posted by: mitchell at November 28, 2006 9:36 AM..oh and speaking of Joni...David and I had to finally discuss the fact that he hates her...he said..."i want to wrap a rubber hose around my neck"...hahaha...soo funny...well at the least the Chieftans understand!..ive been trying to force her down his aesthetic throat for years..i give up!
Posted by: mitchell at November 28, 2006 9:41 AMJayne - yeah, she (her name is Una, I believe) is disowned - he beats the crap out of her, drags her back to the Laundry and tells her that she has nowhere to come to if she runs away again. (sniff)
She ends up becoming a nun. Cause what else are you gonna do in that situation??
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 10:09 AMMitchell - hahahahahahaha with David ... that's hysterical. Well, you and jean can definitely bond on the supremacy of Joni. She's one of Jean's idols - in fact, we listened to joni during the Thanksgiving day brunch.
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 10:14 AMMitchell - you have my extreme sympathy about the tooth thing - I've been having some fun dental stuff done lately, too.
Sheila - yeah, that's right, I remember more of it now. Definitely need to rent it.
Posted by: Jayne at November 28, 2006 10:31 AMSheila, Happy Birthday! I envy your quiet, uninterrupted movie-watching time...
Posted by: Alex Nunez at November 28, 2006 10:47 AMHappy Belated, red. I'm looking for that movie now, too.
Posted by: Rob at November 28, 2006 10:52 AMHappy Birthday, Sheila!!! Wow, that was an... uh... interesting choice of films on your special day. Hee hee. God, that movie stuck with me for weeks after. It was very well done and I appreciated the performances and the overall quality but it's not one of those films that I ever need to watch again. Ditto for Hotel Rwanda. I saw it a long time ago and it still haunts me. Mannequin , on the other hand, has a very long shelf-life, as far as I'm concerned. Oh and The Legend of Billie Jean.
Posted by: curly mcdimple at November 28, 2006 11:53 AMcurly -
Yeah, I don't ever need to see it again.
But Kate & Leopold? I could watch that stupid movie every day and never get sick of it.
Or Center Stage.
Or Bring It On.
True escapist movies. Magdalene Sisters was relentlessly realistic. I loved all those girls, and I felt so bad for them.
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 12:32 PMHappy birfday!
Posted by: PatrickP at November 28, 2006 12:48 PMLook, I know she's a genius, I appreciate her genius, it's just that her voice, her style, her whole artistic approach makes me want swallow 50 valiums and suck on my exhaust pipe.
And I'm a pretty upbeat guy.
Happy Birthday Sheila. Looking soooo forward to tonight!
Posted by: David at November 28, 2006 12:58 PMOh Yeah!
So Joni, if I may...
I have a whole irrational response to her. I believe any woman I meet, who is even slightly depressed from time to time, or who is even vaguely clinging to any kind of victim mentality, is a direct result of Joni Mitchell's presence in our culture.
Posted by: David at November 28, 2006 1:10 PMLIGHTEN UP, FRANCIS!
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 1:19 PMHappy Mo'Foin Cream Risin' (belated) B-Day, Sheila!
And, really, I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by watching something like The Magdalene Sisters and invoking Joni Mitchell.
!!!!
Then again, uplift always comes in different shades--including Joni's "Turbulent Indigo." That album, along with every other one she's put out, should have a DSM IV warning stuck on it: "KNOWN TO CAUSE CALAMITOUS OFF-THE-CLIFF DRIVING PATTERNS IN MICE. USE WITH CAUTION AND/OR COCAINE."
But, still, I love her, can't get enough of her, would take a whole case, ahem, of her....
Again, Happy Birthday!
xo j.m.
Posted by: Jon at November 28, 2006 1:50 PMJon - that whole "Mo'Foin Cream Risin'" thing just so cracks me up.
It cracks me up every. time.
Not to mention the whole sugarcube-stuck-in-eyeball phenomenon, which also makes me laugh every time I even think about it (which is suprisingly often.)
But still: thanks for de birthday wishes!
May the poor girls who suffered in the Magdalene Laundry System rest in peace!!!
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 1:57 PMThey were sinnerz, Sheila! Each and Every Sugar Cubed One of Those Laundry Girls!
(I actually haven't seen the flick, but I've been meaning to. I hear it's as great--and harrowing--as you've described. On to Netflix it goes. And Geraldine McEwan is like one of the best "Uknown Known" actresses alive today. I really dig her.)
(but I'm heartened to hear that cream risin to the top still makes you laugh, i.e, that I haven't turned into one of those ridiculous uncle types who's been recycling the same joke for the past 20 years--and to no appreciated effect!)
Will have to get together soon so that I can reprise the move with the cubes and possibly make food fall out of your mouth.
Posted by: Jon at November 28, 2006 2:14 PMJon - you know, I remember seeing a TV series based on Prime of Miss Jean Brodie when i was a kid - maybe Masterpiece Theatre had it?? Can't remember - but that was her! She was so good - i still remember some of her speeches and gestures and stuff, as though I had just seen it.
She has this random speech in Magdalene Sisters where she confesses that she loves movies - and not just all movies - but Westerns, in particular ... it comes out of nowhere, and is so incongruous to who she SEEMS to be ... that it makes her even more scary.
She's unbelievable.
Posted by: red at November 28, 2006 3:29 PM..i feel soo the opposite about Joni..i feel her honest(albeit often painfully acute lyrics) are affirming the need to get out of situations..emotional and otherwise..its like Meryl Streep in Sophies Choice..she goes through it so we dont have to..we get to learn from the wisdom...people say she is depressing ..i think she is uplifting and human...but David..i soo wasnt criticizing ur contempt of her..i love it..i love our ability to disagree so vehemently...its more about wanting to share with u what i experience than convincing u that im right...and yes Jean and I have bonded over Joni..she turned me on to my current fave Joni song..Marcie( teehee..David u would REALY hate this one!!)...Jayne..i actually love getting dental work done as long as i trust the doctor..and mine is great...are u having tooth trauma??
Posted by: mitchell at November 28, 2006 10:36 PM