In 1964, three young women are sent to one of the Magdalene asylums in Ireland run by the Sisters of Mercy on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. For different reasons they are considered to be 'fallen' women: Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff) was raped by her cousin and blamed for this by her family; Patricia (Dorothy Duffy) was an unwed mother; Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone) was simply flirting with boys too much. The asylum proves to be a virtual prison where the inmates are forced to slave all day in the laundry, and insubordination is punished by beatings and sundry humiliations. Some 30, 000 women had been detained within the walls of the Magdalene asylums since the end of the 19th Century. The last Magdalene laundry was closed in 1996 and only then has the truth about the horrific conditions in these institutions begun to emerge. It is possible that the stories depicted in this film (based on true life incidents) were worst case scenarios, but there is no denying that great injustices have been done. The fact that some women were detained for their entire lives without any kind of judicial process is probably more frightening than any individual scene of brutality. Directed by Peter Mullan, who starred in Ken Loach's My Name is Joe, the film won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.