Cabrini (2024)

Cabrini is solemn, slow and old-fashioned on purpose, and it mostly gets away with it because of one performance. Cristiana Dell’Anna plays Francesca Cabrini, an Italian nun with tuberculosis who dreams of missions in China, until Pope Leo XIII sends her to New York instead. In the Five Points, Italian immigrants are sick, broke and ignored, and boys like Paolo and Enzo are living in the sewers. Cabrini opens an orphanage, feeds and nurses people, and refuses to take no from anyone, including Archbishop Corrigan, played by David Morse, and a hostile mayor. Dell’Anna is magnetic, steely and warm all at once. But at 142 minutes it moves like a slow parade, the dialogue leans on speeches, and a heavy sepia look smothers the city. It holds a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and made $19.51 million domestically on a reported $50 million. A 6.9 because the woman is extraordinary and the movie is merely respectful of her. $549.61 says the next flat no you hear sends you straight to whoever outranks the person who said it.

What works: Cristiana Dell’Anna gives a commanding, movie-star performance, and the film honors a remarkable woman’s work with real sincerity.

What doesn’t: At well over two hours it drags, the dialogue often sounds like slogans, and the sepia-tinted look flattens old New York.

Who it’s for: Viewers who love old-fashioned historical biopics and anyone curious about the patron saint of immigrants.