It's based on extensive research into the real experiences of nuns during the period of Vatican II (the Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965). It's not a true story in the sense that it's a direct biography of one specific person, rather dramatised out into that within the backdrop as we follow the path of young Cathleen training to become a nun.
Director Maggie Betts drew from a "rich canon of memoirs of ex-nuns" and consulted with former nuns and experts to create a story that reflects the dramatic changes and challenges faced by Catholic sisters during that era. The film aims to portray the authentic emotional struggles as well as the impact of Vatican II, on women, isolation, abuse and sexuality in religious life.
The whole cast are terrific, the production values top-notch, cinematography lovely as the potentially dour tale is whipped up into something much more - almost gripping! Melissa Leo is terrific as the scary, domineering, abusive, old-fashioned-values, "acting on behalf of God" Reverend Mother in the convent, the cute Margaret Qualley in the lead grabs the attention in pretty much every scene and Julianne Nicholson is solid as her mother. There's a distant feeling of The Handmaid's Tale (2017-2025) about some of it.
They've weedled in some sexuality stuff for ratings no doubt - who knows how much of the fine detail is true - there's very brief nudity but it's a really well played-out drama worthy of a look. I might even have a look at the referenced-within film starring Audrey Hepburn now, The Nun's Story (1959).
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