One of the best movies of the past decade made less than$600,000 at the box office, probably because peoplethinkthey don’t want to see a movie about nuns.

But “Novitiate” — a 2017 Margaret Betts film about the strained experience inside a convent when Vatican II is about to transform the church — is powerful and dramatic and containsfourremarkable performances, led by Melissa Leo, who is scary and magnificent as the mother superior. In addition, there’s Margaret Qualley as the novice nun, Julianne Nicholson as her agnostic mother and Dianna Agron as a young nun experiencing doubts.

This is a wrenching, dramatic and brilliantly directed movie and very much worth your time.

"Novitiate": Rent or buy on Vudu and Amazon Prime Video.