Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A 17th-century nun becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedetta's shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its core.
Paul Verhoeven's late-career provocation is genuinely singular — a nunsploitation art film that blends religious ecstasy, lesbian desire, plague-era politics, and black comedy in a way only Verhoeven could conceive. Its novelty is undeniable: the film occupies a one-of-a-kind tonal space. The plot is serviceable but uneven, juggling too many threads without fully resolving them, and the ending deflates rather than detonates, squandering the dramatic tension built up over the trial sequences. Acting is competent — Virginie Efira commits fully — but supporting performances are inconsistent. Cinematography is handsomely mounted but rarely transcendent, fitting period drama conventions more than it subverts them.