by Kate Crofts
Daily Lobo
Acclaimed director Peter Mullan's grim new film "The Magdalene Sisters" set screens across Europe ablaze.
Similarly, the film has ignited religious controversy and discussions of social consciences. Nora-Jane Noone, the film's star, has had to handle the heat.
In her debut role, Noone plays Bernadette - a feisty and flirtatious orphan sent to the Catholic labor camp known as the Magdalene Laundries for her sinful behavior. The film is the tragic tale of three "fallen" girls sent to the laundries as penance for their sins. There, under the watchful guard of the Catholic nuns, they are subjected to hard labor without pay and are emotionally abused.
Cue the fire - religious figures have condemned the film as being anti-Catholic. The sensitivity surrounding the plot is intensified by the fact that the Magdalene Laundries actually existed in Ireland and were shut down only seven years ago.
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Despite the flames, Noone, the young Irish actress, has emerged unscathed. Her disposition negates the nature of the febrile film - Noone is cool, calm and extremely down to earth.
In the aftermath of the film's release and her subsequent departure from anonymity, Noone chose to put her acting career on hold and return to a more ordinary existence. She is presently finishing her science degree in Ireland and is now just another student. Her favorite pastimes include "hanging out" and "being lazy."
"Just bumming around college is always good fun," Noone said.
Her acting experience was limited before taking the role in "The Magdalene Sisters." Her career as an actress extended only to a "school show and performing arts thing," Noone said.
She added director Mullan was a great coach while she worked at her character, giving the then 17 year old "lots of space." But it required more than space to portray Bernadette. Noone's role forced her to invoke powerful emotions and perform grueling scenes.
"It was really exhausting work," she said.
Adding to the complexity of Noone's task, the role required full frontal nudity. Demonstrating maturity beyond her years, Noone accepted the scene as a necessary part of the film.
"I didn't really mind (doing the nude scene) because it did happen," she said. "The film is the story of the terrible things that were done to these girls. It was a serious event." Noone was dedicated to the accurate portrayal of the heart-breaking nature of the asylum.
Noone is also dedicated to her Catholic upbringing and rejects claims that the film is anti-Catholic.
"It is not anti-Catholic," she said. "It's not against anyone's beliefs or religion. It's a film about power, and the abuse of it. If they (the nuns) had been acting in accordance with the values of their religion, it wouldn't have happened."
Noone is proud of the film, but modest about her contributions.
"I just tried to do my best," Noone said.
Her best was good enough. The film recently won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.
"The Magdalene Sisters" has received both condemnation and critical acclaim. Regardless of whether audiences like it or not, they can't help but be affected by it. The film is nothing, if not powerful. The only question left is whether its star, Nora-Jane Noone, remains the only person unaffected by the force of her creation.
