Audacious auteur Paul Verhoeven has created one of his best films in years with the salacious period piece Benedetta. Based on the book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy Judith C. Brown we follow the title character Benedetta (Virginie Efira), in her convent as the world around her is bombarded by irrevocable changes. The plague spreads throughout the land outside the city walls while our heroine navigates the politics of life in a strict convent and her burgeoning, same-sex attractions. To complicate matters further things get supernatural and hell seems to break loose, threatening the stability of the convent. This movie isn’t for everyone, riding the fine line of taste and exploitation but it is tempered with lush production values, a plot teeming with political machinations, and a message of tolerance.

At one point towards the end of the film Alfonso Cecchi (Olivier Rabourdin) concedes that everyone must “Play their part to the end,” however strange and convoluted the situation is. This reflects the theme of the film really, as Benedetta begins her story defending young Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia) who seeks sanctuary from her abusive father. Benedetta insists on taking the poor girl in against the better judgment of her superior, Soeur Felicita, l’abbesse (Charlotte Rampling) and the two young nuns begin to notice carnal sparks between one another. Soon Benedetta begins to suffer sacrilegious nightmares and visions and Bartolomea is the only one to volunteer to tend to her. The romantic ties deepen between Bartolomea and Benedetta and soon our titular nun begins showing signs of stigmata, or being marked by Jesus Christ. This propels Benedetta to the head of the convent to the submissive chagrin of Soeur Felicita who remains deeply suspicious of the relationship the two women have.

That’s when the comet appears in the skies above the convent. Some take it as an omen of good, some see it as a harbinger of evil. As the political moves play out, the romance between Benedetta and Bartolomea becomes more involved, and the plague begins to penetrate the walls of the city. Will Benedetta be outted as a heretic lesbian nun? Will Plague consume the city? Will God smite them all?

Verhoeven leans into his strengths while adopting a few new tricks. Here he and co-screenwriter David Birke slow things down to revel in the period and the chess game being played in the church at the time. Women are subjugated to servitude, governed by a patriarchy of arbitrary rules and restrictions. There is a heavy examination of faith and the utility of one’s belief system. These are paired with the typically lurid moments that Verhoeven punctuates his movies with, daring the viewer to blush and confess prudence.

Again not a film for everyone, but easily one of Verhoeven‘s more accomplished, Benedetta proves he can do high-brow, but his home is in the sensational.

8 out of 10