Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- disturbing
- austere
- melodramatic
- serious movie night
- courtroom mystery marathon
What critics said
Critics generally praised the three lead performances and stark photography but found the plot uneven and the film’s thematic agenda unclear.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Dr. Martha Livingston’s court-appointed evaluation repeatedly confronts the convent’s spiritual explanations and institutional authority.
Hypnosis and psychiatric investigation are used to probe Sister Agnes’s incomplete understanding of conception, birth, and death.
The church and Mother Miriam Ruth resist Livingston’s search for evidence about the newborn and Agnes’s past.
The rural Canadian convent and its austere interiors create a severe atmosphere around the investigation.
Films like Agnes of God, and why
The Exorcist
Shared psychological mystery structure, courtroom investigation, and conflict between rational inquiry and faith.
Doubt
Shared religious setting, moral ambiguity, investigative tension, and oppressive institutional atmosphere.
Primal Fear
Shared courtroom mystery, morally charged testimony, and a protagonist pursuing hidden truth against institutional resistance.
The Sixth Sense
Shared female-centered psychological drama, contested memory, and uncertainty surrounding traumatic events.
Movie Details
- Director
- Norman Jewison
- Release Date
- 1985-09-13
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (145)
Cast
- Jane Fonda
- Meg Tilly
- Anne Bancroft
- Anne Pitoniak
- Winston Rekert
- Gratien Gélinas
- Guy Hoffmann
- Gabriel Arcand
- Françoise Faucher
- Jacques Tourangeau
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Agnes of God about?
- A court-appointed psychiatrist confronts institutional secrecy, fractured memory, and the uneasy boundary between clinical reason and religious faith while investigating a newborn’s death.
- What is Agnes of God like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Agnes of God as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Agnes of God violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Agnes of God as mild.
- What did critics think of Agnes of God?
- Critics generally praised the three lead performances and stark photography but found the plot uneven and the film’s thematic agenda unclear.
- Which films are like Agnes of God?
- Films with a similar feel include The Exorcist, Doubt, Primal Fear, and The Sixth Sense.
- How long is Agnes of God?
- Agnes of God runs 98 minutes.
- Where can I watch Agnes of God?
- In United States, Agnes of God is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
