See Melissa Leo Give Dianna Agron a Stern Talking-To in “Novitiate”
There’s no Sound of Music-esque twinkle in the midcentury nuns at the center of Novitiate, a gripping period drama about faith, sexuality, and power. The film stars Margaret Qualley—late of HBO’s critically acclaimed The Leftovers—as Cathleen, a young and idealistic postulant, ready to devote herself fully to the God she so loves. But first, she must tangle with her convent’s authoritarian Reverend Mother (Melissa Leo)—whom you’ll see in action in the exclusive clip above, delivering some stern pronouncements to a fellow nun played by Glee alum Dianna Agron.
Agron’s character, Mary Grace, is sympathetic to the newest members of their shared community—who are, after all, teenage girls—but Reverend Mother stands firm after two of the new recruits are seen “seeking comfort in each other” and summarily thrown out. “How are those two girls expected to go their entire lives without physical affection when they can’t even make it a few months?” she says, quietly but firmly. And then the Mother begins to circle around Mary Grace, questioning her devotion to the convent—like a black-and-white-clad shark who has just spotted a wounded dolphin in the surf.
The film, written and directed by Margaret Betts, will hit theaters on October 27.
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