Virginie Efira's performance as the titular character is central to the film's impact. She portrays Benedetta with a blend of vulnerability and calculated ambition, leaving viewers to wonder whether her visions are genuine divine interventions or strategic maneuvers for influence. Charlotte Rampling provides a powerful counterpoint as the Abbess, a pragmatic leader who views Benedetta's claims with skepticism and concern for the convent's stability.
The narrative follows Benedetta (played by Virginie Efira) as she enters a convent in Pescia, Tuscany. From a young age, she displays an intense, almost physical connection to Jesus Christ. As she grows into adulthood, her visions become more frequent and graphic, eventually leading to her being hailed as a mystic. However, her rise to power within the convent is complicated by her burgeoning romantic and sexual relationship with another nun, Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia).
Paul Verhoeven's " Benedetta ," which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, is a historical drama that blends religious fervor with eroticism and political intrigue. Based on Judith C. Brown's 1986 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy , the film explores the life of Benedetta Carlini, a 17th-century nun who claimed to experience divine visions and stigmatic miracles.