Review of the Film “Saint Maud”

 When you realize that it’s a product of someone’s debut, you would realize what a remarkable achievement “Saint Maud” is. Rose Glass, who has donned the director’s hat and has also written the script for the film, has done a wonderful job in making a film that is in the league of its own.

Almost an hour and a half long film explores the genres of psychological thriller and body horror within the backdrop of religious aspects that will give you chills of some of the best cult classics of the ’80s such as The Last Temptation of the Christ, Romero, Taxi Driver and The Prodigal Planet.

Although, it’s tough to sit back and watch the entire film in one go, however, once the credit rolls down you would realize the brilliance and bravery shown by Rose Glass as she tackled some of the most unspeakable questions whilst throwing her filmmaking genius in an 83-minute-long product.

At its core, it’s an exploration of a woman named Maud as she goes through different emotions whilst feeling an intense love for Jesus Christ. She has been recently converted and by profession, she is a nurse at a gloomy seaside town of Morrissey. She goes through her day, feeling that every bit of happiness, sadness, and suffering is a plan of God.

When Maud realizes that an ex-dancer named Amanda Kohl (played by Jennifer Ehle) is counting days because of a deadly lymphoma, she gets a call that it is her job to save Amanda. In an artistic perspective, Maud and Amanda’s relationship is an account of the bond which is born out of loneliness faced by two women, but when we see Maud getting hostile towards Amanda’s partner Carol (played by Lily Frazer), we realize the film is mostly about Maud’s internal struggle with an unnamed divine power that she thinks is controlling her life.

The female director did an immaculate job by offering both the subjective and objective outlooks in the film. She displays Maud’s thoughts with an unbiased touch while also showing an intense examination of the flaws that the young nurse has. We see glimpses of body horror as we go deep into the decaying psychological state of Maud and the helplessness that is surrounding her.

Morfydd Clark did an exceptional job in portraying Maud and expertly showing the expressions of a woman that struggles with her beliefs but is stubborn enough to live with it. Jennifer Ehle also gave a noteworthy personification of dying Amanda Kohl who became so hedonistic and depressed that she doesn’t even wish to be saved. She had accepted her decline long before Maud arrived, which she expresses to her in dry humor and a snarling tone.

Rose Glass ended the film in a flawless poetic voice which is again quite unusual from a horror genre film, but it was quite inevitable when we realize the fact that her tenacity and boldness manifested itself for a piece of art rather than some number of dollars. She made the film because she wanted to make it. She is not here to please anyone as should not any artist who is embarking on something he or she deeply loves.

Blair Lennon is a McAfee expert and has been working in the technology industry since 2002. As a technical expert, she has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as mcafee.com/activate.

Source : Saint Maud