During the 1970s in Pennington Gap, Virginia, the Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church attempt to sort through donations for Guatemalan flood victims while an extreme rainstorm goes on outside. Led by the efficient but extremely strict Bea Littleton (played by Kathryn Hartman), the two women who turned up in spite of the harsh conditions; jolly mother of nine, Lorraine Jensen (played by Libby Fleming) and town newcomer and former nurse, Tina Yates (played by Helen Kim) try their best to work around Bea’s prickly attitude and get the task done, but complications arise with the arrival of the glamorous yet mysterious, Janet Murchison (played by Kelly Monisse) who discovers that a young woman named Riley Reynolds (played by Dilroop Khangura) is sleeping in the donation pile. With the young woman clearly hiding something, but being isolated due to the storm, these five women will reveal hidden feelings and past regrets when trying to occupy the time, forming a bond that’s befitting of the sisterhood they’re associated with.
Being a low-budget Sydney-based production based on a play written by Bo Wilson, THE CHARITABLE SISTERHOOD OF THE SECOND TRINITY VICTORY CHURCH isn’t able to erode its theatrical origins and feels very uncinematic in presentation, pacing, dialogue and performance, but the strengths of the original source as well as the people involved make it an unconventional but enjoyable sit thanks to its full-forced but mostly efficient actors, thinly explored but still credible subject matters, and its heartfelt emotional centre.
With a premise that’s perfectly suited for a stage production but one that’s also not really bringing much new to either stage or screen, The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church still showcases strong elements even when presented in a medium that doesn’t fit it, with the quiet intimate character moments paired against its good-natured spirit resulting in a snug, well-intentioned, and efficient package, and this feels like the reason director, Dean Owen-Sims, decided to turn this play into a feature, as he’d previously directed documentaries that spotlighted charitable efforts around the world (especially ones centred around women).
This documentarian style explains the unconventional way this film is constructed, coming across like a filmed theatre production rather than something retooled into a film, and there are pros and cons to this delivery. On the plus side, the story of these five women coming together and expressing their personal woes when isolated is a simple but effective hook and can lead to a lot of down-to-earth conversations, a light-hearted yet slightly somber atmosphere, and the chance to be more spontaneous than originally expected, as it does change course around the second act quite effectively. The start may be a little shaky, but it does even out as it continues, offering a small but charming watch that speaks from the heart, doesn’t waste time, and has enough plot curves to keep a fairly stagnant scenario and presentation active and lively.
While its untraditional presentation can help it leave an impression, there are times when it also hinders and even dilutes what could’ve been pivotal moments, as since the film has little to no editing and therefore never breaks away from any respective scene, this can result in some emotional parts falling flat due to having little to no lead-in, and with the tone bouncing between jovial and downtrodden very frequently, the sudden shift into a serious discussion after a jokey scene can be a bit jarring.
The direction does a nice job propping up the source material and getting a lot of character out of the performances, and the script does mostly come across as natural human speech which makes the experience more authentic, but even if those involved never wanted to make a proper film and intended to retain the stage play identity of this story, that does come with some drawbacks and by extension, hurt its appeal for more mainstream audiences.
The performances can feel a little over pronounced and even cartoonish through how over-the-top they play these southern archetypes, but not only are the roles simply but nicely written in a way that allows for nice interactions and defined personalities, but the fact that it started as a stage play kind of explains away the showy performing style (as most acting in stage productions need to be grander and more physical as to portray clear emotions from a distance).
These five actresses work off each other really well and are able to clearly define who these women are very naturally as well as shake things up when you think you know them inside and out.
Libby Fleming as Lorraine is arguably the simplest role, but she does convey the sturdy and slightly jovial mother with pent-up stress quite naturally and makes for a pleasant face throughout, Kathryn Hartman gives 1000% as Bea and somehow manages to make what should feel like a total cartoon not entirely unbearable, and Helen Kim brings a nice subdued warmth to Tina and really shines during a breakdown scene near the end of the second act.
Dilroop Khangura doesn’t have much time to stand out, but the mystery surrounding what happened to her (while obvious) does help keep her and the situation a little intriguing, and Kelly Monisse may be the best of the bunch as Janet, playing a seemingly one-note airhead who actually has more shades to her under the surface, and Monisse is able to play both sides very believably. This is a very solid cast overall, and while maybe not as nuanced as they could’ve been, have enough to be memorable characters.
Since the movie doesn’t look like it had much money attached, featured no huge stars and didn’t need more than one set for the entire shoot, there isn’t much it can do to stand out visually. While the basement itself doesn’t look bad and is created in a way that looks cramped and dingy but not unpleasant thanks to the soft lighting and homely colors, the way the film is shot prevents it from looking that interesting.
As previously stated, the lack of editing can mean the emotional swerves feel pretty jarring, and while it’s clear that the intent was to keep the audience in the moment and make it hard to predict what’s happening next (which it can sometimes pull off), it means that the shot layouts handled by cinematographer, Luke Field, can be a little bland and repetitive, even though from a technical aspect, they are perfectly acceptable.
THE CHARITABLE SISTERHOOD OF THE SECOND TRINITY VICTORY CHURCH doesn’t really work as a traditional movie, but it doesn’t feel like it was trying to be one, instead acting as a chance for a creative and a bunch of passionate performers to give more awareness to a pretty solid play, and in that regard, they do it quite nicely. This won’t be everybody’s cup of tea as it’s a very singular movie that doesn’t have much visual dynamism or flair, doesn’t have the most thorough characters, and isn’t exploring its topics in the deepest sense, but regardless, the performances are still very engaging, it’s a quick sit that does throw in some curveballs to throw things off the expected path, and the dedication from the director and everyone involved is powerful enough to make it a humble but delightful little feature.
Here is the link for the trailer and the website if you’d like to learn more.
