Saint Maud – An Unsettling Yet Phenomenal Character Study

After premiering in the Midnight Madness program back at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, the North American release date of the spiritual horror Saint Maud has been since thrown into disarray as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic but it is now upon us, getting a limited release and/or VOD release in Canada and the United States. Suffice it to say that this unsettling journey won’t be for everyone. However, a phenomenal lead performance along with some great camerawork and a chilling score will surely make it hard for some viewers to look away. Meanwhile with a brisk running time of 84 minutes, the film certainly succeeds at what it set out to do, resulting in a compelling, original, and surprisingly complex character study about the lengths to cope with one’s loneliness. The film works well as both a psychological-thriller and an atmospheric horror that will disturb, terrify, and challenge viewers relationship with organized religion and one’s identity.

Saint Maud tells the story of an impressionable recluse young nurse named Maud (Clark) who found solace in religion as a means to cope with some mysterious trauma but from there, religion became her identity as it seemed to be her only solace along with helping people. After a move to private care, Maud found herself in the care of a woman named Amanda (Ehle), a retired dancer afflicted with cancer. Maud arguably took her duty towards Amanda a little too seriously as she became concerned with what she was seeing. Nevertheless, she maintained her faith as it had been what had got her through tough times. However, that same faith and devotion isolated her from others. In her mind, everything that had led her up to that point was all God’s plan and she was steadfast in her belief that he had a purpose therefore she was not going to question that plan. However over time, Maud’s concern for Amanda’s wellbeing became an obsession with saving what she deemed to be a troubled soul from eternal damnation whatever it took.

Maud’s experiencing with Amanda proved to be a true test of her faith. Her connection with God was a complicated one. She prayed and she spoke to him and sometimes he answered. Whether or not that actually was the case was debatable, opening the door to such issues as mental illness. Whatever message he had for Maud may not have always been clear but she trusted whatever he had planned for her. She always took comfort in having God to turn to for answers and guidance, however when that wasn’t going according to plan, this left her confused, desperate, and most importantly, alone. It was this loneliness and desperation that left her lost and looking for answers. This made her reckless as her search to understand and move forward to find some sense of belonging took her to some dangerous lengths though mostly towards herself. In the end, moving forward was never going to happen with the problem of Amanda looming over Maud. She would have to complete her mission in order to find some sort of peace with God which would be easier said than done.

Mostly taking place from Maud’s perspective, Saint Maud played a lot with perspective in order to further pull the viewer into her fragile psyche through the use of gloomy cinematography and a series of specifically framed shots and set design to set the stage perfectly in order to reinforce the notion of her alleged connection with God. Meanwhile, the sound design and haunting score worked to create that perpetual unsettling feeling. That being said, it’s hard not to look away thanks to, as mentioned, the phenomenal lead performance from Clark as Maud. She single-handedly carries the films and takes viewers onto an emotional journey where they can empathize with her despite her questionable actions and behavior and her good albeit misguided intentions. Ehle was also up to the task as Amanda, working as a counterbalance of sorts. What made that dynamic work so well was their great chemistry, too bad their time was limited (but it was already a short film to begin with).

At the end of the day, Saint Maud is a finely-acted character piece above all that is sure to leave viewers spinning by the end. Morfydd Clark should be a bigger name.

still courtesy of Elevation Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.