Holy Days (12A)

Sisters Agnes, Luke and Mary Clare are the "last of the dinosaurs" at their ramshackle convent in 1974 New Zealand. They diligently tended to a dwindling flock and each other, especially Sister Luke who is in the tightening grip of dementia. Mischievous 10-year-old Brian overhears Father Findlay colluding with Bishop Chaytor to sell off the convent land. Once the sisters learn about the priest's underhand scheme, they embark on a mercy mission to South Island to recover the convent deeds.

LondonNet Film Review

Holy Days (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Nuns go on the run to save their beloved convent from demolition in a freewheeling road trip written and directed by Nathalie Boltt. Based on Joy Cowley’s novel, Holy Days looks to the heavens for divine comic inspiration but No One answers the film’s prayers so Boltt’s script relies on broad humour – including loose dentures tumbling out of a sister’s mouth – to stifle yawns. Were it not for a luminous performance from first-time actor Elijah Tamati, reminiscent of Julian Dennison’s star-making turn in Hunt For The Wilderpeople, this intergenerational odyssey might chug along on exhaust fumes for stretches of its 101-minute running time…

Sisters Agnes (Judy Davis), Luke (Miriam Margolyes) and Mary Clare (Jacki Weaver) are the “last of the dinosaurs” at their ramshackle convent in 1974 New Zealand. They diligently tended to a dwindling flock and each other, especially Sister Luke who is in the tightening grip of dementia and requires constant supervision. A mischievous 10-year-old boy named Brian Collins (Tamati) is a regular visitor. His mother Paula is buried in the convent grounds and he is struggling to accept his father Joe (Craig Hall) has met a new partner, Liz (Boltt), who will supplant his mother’s belongings in the master bedroom closet.

After a run-in at home, Brian seeks refuge in a confessional booth and overhears Father Findlay (Jonny Brugh) colluding with Bishop Chaytor (John Bach) to sell off the convent land to a property developer. Moreover, they intend to consign Sister Luke to Nazareth Place “where they tie people to the beds”. Once the sisters learn about Father Findlay’s underhand scheme, they embark on an impromptu mercy mission in a stolen car to South Island to recover the convent deeds. Cheeky urchin Brian joins the wimpled trio because his mother was born on South Island and he can reconnect with his Māori roots.

Holy Days is a well-intentioned but old-fashioned yarn that doesn’t stretch the three leads. Margolyes is gifted the showiest role of the trio because of her character’s declining brain functions. Thus, she forgets people and facts mid-sentence and generally misbehaves at inopportune moments. When Sister Agnes despairs that Sister Luke’s prescribed medication is doing a “fat lot of good”, the ailing nun is aghast. “I’m not fat,” she shrieks. “I’m just easy to see!” So are the ways that Boltt plucks heartstrings and helps little Brian move through the denial stage of grief towards acceptance.

When Boltt’s script moves away from fart gags and elicits appreciative giggles, it’s often thanks to young Tamati’s wonderful deadpan delivery. Sister Agnes asserts, with faltering confidence, that she has decades of experience driving a car and Brian quickly counters from the back seat, “Not this decade”. Out of the mouth of a scene-stealing babe.

– Sarah Lee