Synopsis
In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church.
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Cast
- Margaret QualleySister Cathleen
- Melissa LeoReverend Mother
- Julianne NicholsonNora Harris
- Dianna AgronSister Mary Grace
- Lisa StewartSister Genevieve
- Morgan SaylorSister Evelyn
- Liana LiberatoSister Emily
- Rebecca DayanSister Emanuel
- Eline PowellSister Candace
- Chelsea LopezSister Charlotte
Recommendations
- 91
IndieWire
Both introspective and entertaining, Betts never forgets that her young nuns are still teenage girls, and Novitiate rings as true as any other film about coming of age. - 80
Los Angeles Times
Novitiate sure-handedly takes us inside the world of belief with care, concern and a piercing, discerning eye. - 75
New York Post
Holy moly, Melissa Leo makes a scary Mother Superior. - 70
Wall Street Journal
Gradually, though, it wins you over with endearing performances and a clarity of purpose. If that sounds faintly patronizing, it isn’t meant to. - 70
The New York Times
Ms. Betts refrains from easy, uplifting answers and facile condemnations of organized religion. Aided by Kat Westergaard’s warm, restrained cinematography, she takes the viewer close to an understanding of Cathleen’s evolving sense of her relationship with God. - 67
The Film Stage
A stronger character investment up front would have led to a fuller character study as we watch Cathleen walk through the fire. - 67
The A.V. Club
Betts appears to have started out with a rather mundane idea and then stumbled, over the course of her research, onto something much more fruitful. The result is as intriguing and frustrating as that suggests. - 63
Movie Nation
Novitiate is very much a mixed-bag of a movie, condemned by the fanatic at The Catholic Legion of Decency, but too revealing and realistic to discard outright, too heartfelt to fail to move, at times.
