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Saw The Magdalene Sisters last night. Very striking, powerful, brutal movie, the best I've seen this year. Peter Mullan's excellent screenplay and thoughtful direction mean that it is never too in-your-face, yet still extremely affecting indeed. I thought the three lead girls (Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy) were all wonderful, and Geraldine McEwan gave a terrifying yet complete performance as the tyrannical Sister Bridget. Eileen Walsh was also excellent as Crispina. I didn't expect to be as stuck by this film as I was. Terrific.

*****


I have also recently seen Swimming Pool (****) an excellent meditation on the sexual power games of two women (Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier) by Francois Ozon. The two leads made the movie, Rampling especially, and it was constantly engrossing. The ending was a real mindfuck, something I'm still turning over in my mind, but it's definitely worth seeing.