I saw a lot of hate for Cabrini (2024) in general online discussion before I watched it, and honestly, I was tempted to skip it because there’s absolutely something about films with a very clear religious agenda that make my teeth itch. Yes, they can be overly saccharine, or wildly inaccurate takes on the subject matter designed to pander to whatever devout audience is the target demographic without posing any uncomfortable questions or ambiguities. But something told me I should really just give this film a try and decide for myself. I’m not ashamed to admit, as a total heathen, that I enjoyed Cabrini.
The film centers on Catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini, who came to New York City in the late 1880s and founded an orphanage in the city’s heavily Italian immigrant populated (and desperately poverty-stricken) Five Points neighborhood. I appreciated that the film didn’t try to sugarcoat the overwhelming challenge of Mother Cabrini’s mission, from pushback from the Vatican all the way down to the common men populating the streets of New York. And dare I say it? I honestly felt like this film is an excellent example of feminist historiography, even though, yes, the main character is a nun (it bears repeating that some of the most outspoken and ardent feminists are nuns, btw).
As far as the costumes go, there’s not a whole lot to discuss because, well, nuns. And poor people in rags. However, I thought that the tailoring was particularly strong in this film, as was the glimpses of corsets (on the prostitutes) and the very occasional upper-class folks that breeze by as the focus remains on the marginalized poor. The costume designer is Alisha Silverstein, and this appears to be her first proper historical flick (though I did recognize a number of entries in her IMDB from her College Humor days, chiefly the brilliant Star Wars spoof Troopers). I hope she continues to get more historical film jobs because clearly she gets it.
My final verdict is that Cabrini is definitely worth a watch if you’re feeling in the mood for a not-too-gritty-but-not-too-polished biopic about a nun and a bunch of orphans with some good, but not exactly exciting costumes.
Did you watch Cabrini (2024)? Tell us what you thought in the comments!
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I’m curious about the film The Panic because she plays Belle DaCosta Greene, who was J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, and a biracial black woman who passed as white. Her father was the first African-American to graduate from Harvard University. The Morgan Library just had a huge exhibition on her for the museum’s 100th anniversary.
That’s interesting! I think her role isn’t very big in that production, so maybe they thought it wasn’t necessary to do appropriate casting of a WOC, which is pretty disappointing. But I’m still gonna give the show a shot, because that’s what I do, lol.
Although I was interested in Mother Cabrini’s story (the church I grew up in was dedicated to her and she is a hero of the Italian American community), I didn’t want to give my money to Angel Studios. For those who aren’t familiar, AS is a right wing, LDS based movie studio that cranks out religious propaganda movies. Their biggest movie to date, “Sound of Freedom” is full of false narratives about child trafficking, reinforcing inaccurate stereotypes, and lionizing Tim Ballard, who is currently being sued by six women who have accused him of exploiting, abusing, and trafficking women. That is the reason I didn’t go to see it in theaters. I’m surprised that it actually is a good example of feminist historiography, so I might watch it, only if I can find it for free of course.
Thanks for the update. I have a bunch of LDS and former-LDS relatives; one can never underestimate the Church’s craftiness and business smarts.
Wow, thank you so much for the love.