The first time I heard about the terrible story of Irish laundries was from the film Philomena, from 2013. Directed by Stephen Frears, and starring Judi Dench, the film tells the story of a journalist who begins to investigate a terrifying story. It follows Philomena’s struggle in search of her son, who was taken from her after she was forced to work in a convent’s laundry. The film is available for rent/purchase on digital platforms. The theme of the series The Woman in the Wallwhich premieres this 20th on Paramount Plus, also has Madalena’s laundries as its starting point.
The real story of laundromats
For those who don’t know about this story, Madalena’s laundries were born out of the government’s need to punish deviant women. This mainly included single mothers, who were “the shame of society”. They arrived there after taking their children from false shelters and convents. They were physically and emotionally oppressed. Many times they even died under the excuse that everything was just a teaching to purify them in the eyes of God. The case ended up in the media and became a national scandal in 1992. Only in 2001, the Irish government decided to speak out on the matter through a formal apology, in which it recognized the State’s involvement in the cruelty of the institutions. of the church.
The Woman in the Wall
The Woman in the Wall It is a fictional story that mixes with these true facts. Lorna Brady (Ruth Wilson, from His Dark Materials, in a great performance) lives in a small Irish town, who wakes up one morning and finds a body in his house. The worst part is that Lorna has no idea if she herself is responsible for the apparent murder. This is because Lorna has suffered from extreme bouts of sleepwalking for a long time, ever since she was taken away from home at the age of 15 and imprisoned in the Convent. This was a (fictitious) house of one of Ireland’s infamous Magdalene asylums for women. There, Lorna gave birth to her daughter Agnes, who was cruelly taken from her and whose fate Lorna never knew.
At the same time, detective Colman Akande (Darryl McCormack, from the Good Luck, Big Leo) goes after Lorna for a crime apparently unrelated to the body he discovered in her house. Her intelligence hides a silent sadness. When he meets Lorna, he has to face her own secrets. As Colman searches for a killer and Lorna searches for her daughter, their paths will collide in several ways.
What did I find?
The series has six episodes, and is a joint production between Showtime and the BBC. I love these short British series that perfectly tell a good story. The story is divided into two timelines. The first shows Lorna’s memories of her time at the Laundry. The second, which takes up most of the time, shows the two murders, which are linked to events dating back to that time. There is also another part of the drama not just for Lorna. There are other women who suffered in the past (and still today) with the events of the past. And especially with the guilty looks of the city and powerful people.
In addition to an exciting dramatic part that inspires great revolt, The Woman in the Wall it also offers a detective plot full of comings and goings. You will be totally involved with the story. I watched the six episodes lasting approximately one hour in one “sitting”. It was so worth it!
Eliane Munhoz
To find out more about films and series, visit blogdehollywood.com.br
