Review: 'Benedetta' lets director Paul Verhoeven go medieval in the convent, with a story of carnality and Catholicism

The Virgin Mary and some not-so-virginal nuns feature prominently in “Benedetta,” an erotically charged and sometimes unhinged thriller from Dutch director Paul Verhoeven.

It’s sometime in the 1600s, at a convent in a small Italian town. The Abbess (Charlotte Rampling) takes payment from a nobleman (David Clavel) to enroll his daughter — who as a little girl claimed to speak directly to the Virgin Mary — as a nun. As an adult, the girl, Benedetta (Virginie Efira), is the most devout sister in the order, so much so that she sometimes claims Jesus himself is speaking to her.

The Abbess, who’s cynical about the presence of miracles, indulges Benedetta’s flights of spiritual fancy. But the convent’s peaceful balance is upended when a wild young woman, Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia), runs in seeking sanctuary from her abusive father. Benedetta wants to take Bartolomea in, and Benedetta’s rich parents are willing to pay the Abbess off to let that happen.

Soon, Benedetta — who has never known carnal pleasure — finds herself drawn physically to Bartolomea, and vice versa. This being a Verhoeven movie, this attraction soon manifests itself in scenes of stark sexuality, including the use of a figurine of the Virgin Mary designed to offend any devout Catholics who mistakenly walked into the theater.

Oh, did I mention that Verhoeven and his co-screenwriter, David Birke, based their script off of real events — chronicled in historian Judith C. Brown’s book “Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy”?

Of course, erotic thrillers are nothing new to Verhoeven, who gave the world “Basic Instinct” (1980) and “Showgirls” (1995) — along with action blockbusters like “RoboCop” (1987) and “Total Recall” (1990). Out of favor in Hollywood, Verhoeven went back to Europe, making the World War II spy thriller “Black Book” (2006) and the Isabelle Huppert rape drama “Elle” (2016).

Verhoeven is also an old hand at mixing sexuality and Catholicism — take his pre-Hollywood 1983 thriller “The 4th Man.” So medieval nuns getting it on shouldn’t be a shock, in context.

And, after a while, the novelty wears off, and the story concerns itself with the power dynamics between Benedetta and the Abbess — and with the Nuncio (Lambert Wilson), a papal representative determined to put an end to Benedetta’s claims of being a miracle worker.

Not everything in “Benedetta” tracks as a coherent narrative, and Verhoeven is more interested in throwing rocks in the pond than exploring the aftermath of the splash. But the sparks among the leads — particularly Efira’s electric scenes with Patakia and her cool head-to-head scenes with Rampling — make the movie intriguing even when it’s jumping off the rails.

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‘Benedetta’

★★★

Opens Friday, December 3, in select theaters. Not rated, but probably R for sexual imagery and violence. Running time: 131 minutes; in French and Latin, with subtitles.