A satisfying though imperfect drama that gets the "big picture" right concerning the Magdalen Laundries/Mother And Baby Homes.
Despte flaws in the scriptwriting, overall it hits the spot for the psychodrama genre.
It depicts how Irish society in those decades was equally complicit with the church , and is just as much to blame for what happened.
It shows that even today there are people in Irish society and positions of power or influence that seek to underplay/deny/cover-up/silence what happened and protect the guilty ones.
Ruth Wilson (executive producer) is excellent as usual, and deserves plaudits. Daryl McCormack did a brilliant job, and Simon Delaney / Hilda Fay gave excellent support roles.
Despite being filmed mostly in Northern Ireland (i.e not in the Republic where the drama is set), the locations and accents are all acceptable, despite occasional goofs.
Some reviewers moan about non-Irish telling of this story, which I dismiss.
RTE sat on its arse for decades and came up with nothing to sell internationally by mining this rich seam of raw material for drama.
So congrats to the BBC/Showtime for somehow making it happen , although funding details are unclear.
Somehow via "Movive Pictures" (who made it) and "Fifth Season" (who funds "Motive Pictures"). "Fifth Season" is owned by "CJ ENM" ( a South Korean company).
The score was perfect. Particularly moving snippet from the late Sinead O'Connor at the ending "I'm everything a woman's not supposed to be/ That's why they took my children off of me..." .
Direction seemed occasionally a bit flabby, when a tighter style might have worked better, but only a minor complaint.
Problems with the script seem to be in these areas: -purpose of the character Michael seems unclear.
Despte flaws in the scriptwriting, overall it hits the spot for the psychodrama genre.
It depicts how Irish society in those decades was equally complicit with the church , and is just as much to blame for what happened.
It shows that even today there are people in Irish society and positions of power or influence that seek to underplay/deny/cover-up/silence what happened and protect the guilty ones.
Ruth Wilson (executive producer) is excellent as usual, and deserves plaudits. Daryl McCormack did a brilliant job, and Simon Delaney / Hilda Fay gave excellent support roles.
Despite being filmed mostly in Northern Ireland (i.e not in the Republic where the drama is set), the locations and accents are all acceptable, despite occasional goofs.
Some reviewers moan about non-Irish telling of this story, which I dismiss.
RTE sat on its arse for decades and came up with nothing to sell internationally by mining this rich seam of raw material for drama.
So congrats to the BBC/Showtime for somehow making it happen , although funding details are unclear.
Somehow via "Movive Pictures" (who made it) and "Fifth Season" (who funds "Motive Pictures"). "Fifth Season" is owned by "CJ ENM" ( a South Korean company).
The score was perfect. Particularly moving snippet from the late Sinead O'Connor at the ending "I'm everything a woman's not supposed to be/ That's why they took my children off of me..." .
Direction seemed occasionally a bit flabby, when a tighter style might have worked better, but only a minor complaint.
Problems with the script seem to be in these areas: -purpose of the character Michael seems unclear.
- unknown circumstances of Lorna's pregnancy, family, father of Agnes.
- unknown outcome of Aoife's Cassidy's daughter (redundant character?), and Aoife's husband.
- unknown why Lorna thinks Lorna killed Aoife
- unknown why Colman did not find Colman's birth mother.
- unknown outcome of Coyle's fate.
- unknown what Coyle had on Leslie, or how exactly Father Percy died.