... because you have all of the elements of an Oscar nominee there. There is a crisis of faith, a clash of logic versus faith, an extremely childlike woman accused of a most horribile crime, and fine acting, and a release date at the end of the year 1985, when the Academy tends to be paying attention. Problem is that the script really fails to tie anything together.

Agnes (Meg Tilly) is a young childlike nun who, in spite of her seeming innocence, has given birth to a baby with the newborn found dead in the waste basket in her room, seemingly murdered by Agnes. Psychiatrist Martha Livingston (Jane Fonda) is tasked by the court to interview Agnes and determine if she is fit to stand trial. She finds resistance in Mother Miriam (Ann Bancroft),who believes the baby was divinely conceived.

Livingston does more than just interview Agnes, as that wouldn't be a very engaging film. She turns in to the Canadian Columbo and unearths some unexpected details in the process that really have nothing to do with Agnes' fitness for trial. Livingston has long sense lost her faith, worn down by life, and by a mother who is in the throes of dementia and doesn't even know who she is. She is also dedicated to science, so this divine conception mumbo jumbo she is just not buying.

It is weird when Agnes becomes hysterical and then demonstrates the stigmata. But then I had an anti-vaxxer colleague once who had hysterical chickenpox after I told her I had a shingles shot. She had already had chickenpox as a child. Had I not told her about the shingles shot would she have broken out in hives? If Agnes had not known about the stigmata would she have demonstrated this phenomenon?

The reason I have a spoiler warning on this review is, after the plot goes in circles longer than I had patience with it, and demonstrates more secret passage ways in the convent than a medieval torture chamber, the cause of the baby's birth is revealed to be exactly what you'd expect it to be. Some peasant boy romancing Agnes, bedding Agnes - perhaps raping her, with the result being pregnancy. Agnes just wasn't knowledgeable enough about the facts of life to know what happened to her. Why some people keep saying that the cause of her pregnancy is left unresolved I have no idea.

I give it five stars as a fine demonstration of the acting craft.

In the Les Petites Soeurs de Marie Madeleine convent outside of Montreal, sister Agnes Devereaux (Meg Tilly) is found with a dead newborn. Dr. Martha Livingston (Jane Fonda) is sent by the prosecutors to determine her mental stability as they are reluctant to try a nun for murder. Mother Miriam Ruth (Anne Bancroft) is the leader. Agnes is delusional and refuses to accept that she gave birth.

Tilly is amazing bordering on madness. She has a wide-eyed persona that fits this character perfectly. Bancroft is solid. Fonda is bothersome. There are many ways for her character to go but she is taking the worst path. She is not pleasant. She doesn't feel like a doctor. Her strident character feels more like an argumentative social worker or an atheist lawyer. As a psychiatrist, she seems shocked by the delusion and lacks the empathy to be good at her job. Fonda's character is all wrong and she's playing it aggressively to its maximum. Then there is the main question which is left unanswered. It needs answering. This movie has a couple of great performances but also has glaring problems.

The rustic Montreal suburb setting adds a sense of mystery and awe inspiring spiritual power as court appointed psychiatrist Jane Fonda questions the alleged baby killing nun Meg Tilly over a horrific crime. Mother Superior Anne Bancroft is seemingly supportive, but she has her secrets too, slowly revealed through intimate conversations with Fonda whose faith has dwindled down to nonexistent years before.

The Broadway play this was based on was a masterpiece of stage drama, and in opening up the play to film has not improved its power, just made it more accessible to audiences. The three ladies are all superb, creating characterizations that will stick in the viewer's minds long after the film is done. Tilly is fragile, nearly child like, obviously suffering from a potential complete mental collapse, and at times, she is heartbreaking to watch. There's no soul visible through her pale skin and empty eyes which thanks to the photography and lighting, adds to her look which makes her mystery all the more compelling.

The two veteran Oscar winning actresses, Bancroft and Fonda, are commanding together, each individually creating characters that are powerfully written and pain stakeingly developed. With Fonda, it's easy to see that she's acting, never at one moment making you forget who she is as a star and actress. But Bancroft disappears into the role of the Mother Superior so tightly that you really believe that she is her character, and her conflicted belief system as it is revealed makes her all the more powerful to watch.

It's the small quiet moments between Fonda and Bancroft that stand out, even though the more fiery ones are intensely gripping. Bancroft is alternately funny, compassionate, sarcastic, judgmental and stern, and watching her switch from one mood to another without batting an eyelash is sensational. No wonder she got the leading actress nomination for this, and it is a difficult choice between her and the actual winner, Geraldine Page, who ironically originated this role on Broadway.

The direction of the legendary Norman Jewison keeps this moving at a tight and tense pace, and in editing the play down to 96 minutes, it has compacted what could have otherwise seemed to Stage a or melodramatic into something more intimate and compelling. Obviously the right choices were made in transferring this from stage to screen, and 35 years later that makes this one of the most powerful film adoptions of a hit Broadway play ever.