Audrey Hepburn is predictably luminous as a young novice going through the rigors of religious life, giving up vanity, pleasurable vices and her own stubborn pride for a life of strict obedience. Playing a doctor's daughter whose strength lies in her study of tropical medicine, Hepburn's Sister Luke hopes to travel to the African Congo to work as a medical aide, but her arduous religious journey, beginning with six months in the convent near her home as a struggling postulate, seems a chore to her right from the beginning. This lengthy but engrossing adaptation of Kathryn Hulme's bestseller is impressive in its first two acts, however the film's final third (in the Congo and later during wartime) is disappointingly formulaic. We never grow close to Sister Luke, or even learn that much about her; Hepburn herself is lovely, yet Sister Luke isn't especially feisty or complex--she has resolve but not much drive, and little inner-joy. Her assignment working in the Brussels mental ward is harrowing, but the sequence itself is too short to add much subtext (only that Sister Luke survives it), and the jump cut to the next phase of her journey is abrupt and puzzling (was she transferred early or did many years pass?). Director Fred Zinnemann has a playful moment or two--such as Hepburn shaking confetti from her habit after boarding the ship--but some of his touches are heavy-handed (lots of closing doors to symbolize shutting out the world) and not all the story ramifications are made clear. The message at the end isn't profound either, although the picture's tony quality lends respect to Sister Luke and her decisions. "The Nun's Story" provides good, solid drama, but it isn't without some earthly faults. *** from ****
Review of The Nun's Story
