This resolutely old-fashioned biopic by Angel Studios presents the story of Frances ‘Mother’ Cabrini.
A woman, a nun who, despite personal ill-health, focused her life on helping the poor children, especially in 19th century New York, filled with Italian immigrants treated worse than vermin.
Cristiana Dell’Anna portrays a woman of both devotion and grit, who has to deal with misogyny, racial prejudice, and even religious prejudice.
Just because she wins over The Pope to begin her mission doesn’t mean she can just hop over obstacles, although this biopic shirks away from showing how Cabrini dealt with setbacks and frustrations as an ordinary woman.
I admit I knew little about Mother Cabrini before watching this film. It is certainly true that her network of orphanages and hospitals changed the way the poor and improverished were treated.
It is also true that despite expecting to live just a handful of years, she endured long enough to defy medical diagnosis and to complete much of her mission.
Alejandro Monteverde’s film is a lush period drama with all the elements one might expect, with good use of locations and an impressive score.
The tone is somewhat overly respectful, but it doesn’t feel like other Christian films which force doctrine on to an audience.
There is symbolism, too, with Cabrini at one point watching a performance of Pagliacci in order to watch the rich and powerful at play.
American actors David Morse and John Lithgow appear in unsympathetic roles, and the church is presented as a place of intrigue and advancement as well as charity.
There are themes here that I found interesting, not just the depiction of a woman defying convention and expectation.
However, in this depiction of Mother Cabrini as a soul who shone whiter than white, it feels somewhat stagnant in places.
She stands at the worst doors and places with fortitude, even when violence, tragedy, and hate come knocking. There is little tension or plot development.
Cabrini looks great, but lacks a little of the toughness one might expect from a film set in the roughest parts of New York.
However, this is certainly an inspirational portrait of a woman who should be widely known and remembered.
Cabrini is available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download from 27 May 2024, distributed by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.