it's not surprising that "lesbian nun sex" is the main narrative around benedetta, given the internet is what it is and that's a much easier pitch than "catholic politicking in the time of the plague." and there is sex here - stilted, male gazey, cartoon sex, as it is- but it's a sideshow among sideshows in a movie that doesn't know where to point the camera. in some ways it feels like an adaptation of a much longer tv show; a greatest hits album that covers the main plot but misses all the connecting bits. it's being called nunsploitation but that implies a degree of fun that even my most generous reading struggles with. nuns are exploited, but not in the goofy, heightened, consciously tropey way you would expect (and hope). cards on the table: i have not seen any other verhoven movies. but what i've gathered from reading/hearing about them is a repeated, reckless use of sexual violence that continues here. it's these moments of graphic abuse that drop beneddeta from a pretty mess to a film that made me physically ill. the mechanics of the assaults are disgusting as is but the voyeuristic camera work makes it hard to even situated them within the plot, instead inviting the audience to indulge in the horrific acts taking place as events in and out themselves. it takes a lot for me to sour on a movie this gorgeous, this full of lapsed catholicism, and so wildly hilarious. i am continuing to struggle to articulate my feelings about it but the only imagines that remain the morning after are torture and rape and straight bro lesbians. portrait of a nun on fire, this is not. please check the content warnings.