I discovered the beauty of AGNES OF GOD 30 years after its release. I had always heard of it but had never watched it until I purchased it a few months ago. I immediately fell in love with it! The performances, the story line, the motherhood theme. I was pleased to learn that Bancroft and Tilly won major awards for their performances, but I was shocked to see that Fonda did not. I have my suspicions about why this is so, but the fact remains she is brilliant in this role.

My favorite sequence, which I think is Oscar-worthy, begins when Dr. Martha Livingston first hears, on the staircase, Agnes’s singing voice. It continues when she first sees the young nun in Agnes’s convent room. Fonda’s facial expressions during this sequence are amazing. You see her struck with surprise when she hears the voice, and you see her struck with infatuation when she sees Agnes. In fact, Fonda’s character seems to fall in love in that moment–not as much with Agnes as with the godliness that seems to pour through Agnes. And Fonda beautifully reveals this with her eyes–they instantly brighten with infatuation and interest as she stands in the doorway. She also wonderfully displays interest with the crisp delivery of the next few lines, in which she compliments her new client. (I love something as seemingly insignificant as Fonda’s saying ”heard you,” as two distinct words, instead of the lazy ”heardju” that people often say.) Finally, I love the way Fonda’s head snaps with surprise and she halts in speechlessness when she hears that Agnes’s unconditional love of people includes even Jane.

There are more sterling moments, but that’s all I’ll write about now. I joined this website just to be able to say to the world, in a forum where it is appropriate, how amazing I think Ms. Fonda is in this movie. I am not ashamed to admit that Agnes of God has joined The Grapes of Wrath as a movie I sometimes listen to in order to fall asleep. I can only fall asleep to excellence.

I’d love to hear what others think about this movie and Fonda’s role in it.