Magdalene Sisters' never-ending penance

THE Magdalene Sisters takes us back to the '60s, to a time when Ireland was more or less ruled by the Catholic Church.

The local priest was God and there was little in the way of mercy for anyone who sinned, particularly if you were a woman and the sin involved sex, either actual or imagined.

Some unfortunate women who fell foul of Catholic zealots were condemned to a life of servitude at the hands of the Sisters of Mercy in their commercial laundries.

The idea behind these asylums was that the harsh living conditions, lack of proper food, long working hours and regular punishments helped these girls atone for their sins.

Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff) is raped at a family wedding, but instead of punishing the guy who attacked her, she is sent to an asylum in County Dublin.

So too is Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone). Her only sin seems to be looking pretty and flirting with local boys

They are joined by Rose (Dorothy Duffy), who is forced to give up her baby, born out of wedlock.

The asylum is run by Sister Bridget (Geraldine McEwan), who takespleasure in viciously beating and humiliating the girls.

The girls struggle with Catholic guilt for the sins they are being forced to believe they committed, and the suspicion that they don’t deserve to be treated so badly.

Director and writer Peter Mullan does a superb job of getting strong performances from the cast in roles that must have been physically and emotionally demanding.

The storyis all the more disturbing when you realise the last of these asylums only closed in 1996.

Drama, 15. ****

Ted Bundy (Michael Reilly Burke) appears to be a normal American teenager - college student, good looking and popular with girls.

Behind the outward image, however, lurks a dark side. He’s an abusive boyfriend, a thief, a rapist and a killer.

The film takes up the Bundy story while he was at law school and shows how he apparently just went on a raping/killing spree.

The film doesn’t offer any great explanations for this - he tried it, he liked it, he kept on doing it.

It’s this apparent lack of motivation that makes his story all the more chilling.

The film graphically follows most of his murders as well as trying to explore his relationship with his long-time girlfriendhis escapes from custody and ultimately his execution.

Drama, 18. ***