Emily Nussbaum

In Coon's openhearted, subtly joyful portrayal, Agnes is not a broken person who is tricked into faith; she is someone who makes a series of choices to get something she needs, a glue to fix a broken world. In her final monologue, this all becomes clear: it's liberating to see a pattern in your pain, instead of a nightmare that makes no sense. Who among us wouldn't bite at the chance?