Director: Rose Glass
Writer: Rose Glass (Screenplay)
Starring: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight, lily Frazer, Turlough Convery
Plot: Follows a pious nurse who becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.
Tagline – Your savior is coming
Runtime: 1 Hour 24 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Saint Maud starts when nurse Maud (Clark) is preparing for her latest job as a live-in nurse for terminally ill Amanda (Ehle) a minor celebrity who has a reputation for being difficult, the two come from different backgrounds which will see the tension behind Maud’s religious mentality.
When Maud gets pushed too far, she decides she is going to do everything to save Amanda before she passes away, showing her religious commitment.
Thoughts on Saint Maud
Characters – Maud had an incident in her last job as a nurse, now she is making a living as a live-in nurse, with her latest role being seen as God’s will for her, she is going to try and prepare her patient for her next step towards God and is convinced that God is with her. Deep down Maud is filled with loneliness, without her messages from God, she is empty and alone in the world. Amanda is the new patient, the former dancer that is terminally ill, she still wants the fame she once had, with her other friends from that work visiting, using drink, drug and sex to ease her own pain, not willing to be converted as easily as Maud would like. We do meet Joy a former colleague that is offering a loose friendship, while Carol is one of the visitors to Amanda, one that is opposite to Maud.
Performances – Morfydd Clark is brilliant in the leading role of this film, her shy persona makes her a must watch in every scene throughout the film. Jennifer Ehle is great to watch throughout the film, being everything you would imagine a terminal ill celebrity acting like. The supporting cast is strong too where they are needed through the film.
Story – The story here follows a religious nurse that believes she is doing God’s work with her new patient, only to see herself needing to test her beliefs and reason to be fighting for God. This story is brilliant to watch because watching how Maud is completely convinced in her ways will drive her to do the tasks she believes are correct. We do have the clear message about loneliness and how somebody could be driven to believe in a higher power. This is a slow burning story that will get the reward for everything we go through, with an even more shocking final act.
Horror/Mystery – The horror side of this movie comes from seeing how Maud’s beliefs slowly take over her life, forcing her into drastic decisions.
Settings – The film uses the small-town setting to show the one location where everybody goes for one place for drinks, reputations can follow people and it doesn’t seem to create the most social lives for everyone.
Scene of the Movie – Communication.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nothing.
Final Thoughts – Saint Maud is a brilliant horror film that slowly builds up to reveal a shocking conclusion, carried by a star-making performance for Morfydd Clark.
