Agnes of God

Considering the scandals that have wracked the Catholic church lately, it seems unlikely that contemporary audiences will be too shocked by this 1985 film, however controversial it might have seemed at the time. Meg Tilly plays the title character, a nun at a Canadian convent who has apparently given birth to a child and is then arrested for murder when the baby is found dead in her room. Jane Fonda plays the court-appointed psychiatrist who's determined to find the truth; Anne Bancroft is the Mother Superior who's equally intent on protecting her young charge. Many melodramatic developments and revelations ensue, leading to a conclusion that falls well short of satisfying. The three lead performances are good (Bancroft and Tilly received Oscar nominations), if somewhat over-the-top: Fonda's chain-smoking is egregious even by mid-‘80s standards, Tilly's wide-eyed innocent routine becomes tiresome, and Bancroft is a bit much as the defiant, sharp-tongued mother hen. Still, director Norman Jewison (Moonstruck, The Hurricane) does his best with the material, adapted by John Pielmeier from his own play, with the end result being fairly absorbing, if no miracle. A strong optional purchase. (S. Graham)