PIC of the Week – St. Maud
Article Series by Ray Schillaci
In only eight years, A24 has come out with a more eclectic line up of films than any other distribution company and have also found themselves as strong Oscar contenders with Eighth Grade, Ladybird, Room, The Florida Project, The Spectacular Now, and Moonlight, to name a few. They’ve also released some of the more riskier, bizarre and horrific ventures as well: A Ghost Story, Ex-Machina, Spring Breakers, Swiss Army Man, Hereditary, The VVitch and the list goes on. Here is a company that actually sidesteps the usual safe, mainstream movie, delivering to many fans films that are a breath of fresh air or films that have them holding their breath in terror. Their newest release, Saint Maud is no exception.
I have not witnessed a film this taxing to the mind in regards to religion and the world we live in since Michael Tolkin’s The Rapture. What appears to basically be a fascinating two character study of a caretaker and her patient becomes far more troubling as the film progresses. It’s a slow-burn that turns into a literal powder keg shocker by the time it is over, and demands its audience to analyze what they have witnessed.
Needless to say, writer/director Rose Glass’ first feature is not for the ordinary bubblegum popcorn crowd that’s looking for action and exploitive scares. Glass serves up an unsettling bit of horror that lingers in the mind. She can easily stand alongside Robert Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) and Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) as part of the masters of the macabre.
A young nurse, Katie, fails to save the life of her patient while applying CPR. Years later, that incident leads her to seek religion and she becomes a dedicated Roman Catholic, changing her name to Maud. She ends up as a palliative worker. Side note, there is a difference between palliative and hospice care. Palliative services are paid by the person’s insurance plan, they are taken care of at any stage of the disease and they are usually taken care of in a hospital.
Amanda is a once-famous American dancer and choreographer who has retired to an English seaside town while dealing with her stage four lymphoma. Once a diva, always a diva, even in the throes of death knocking at her door. So, she is not easy to deal with. Maud is assigned the arduous task of taking care of her and has become obsessed in saving her soul. The dynamic between the two is ominous and uncomfortable. Think Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Amanda revels in her past sinful life, makes no apologies and continues to flaunt it with a lesbian affair with a younger woman, Carol, who she pays for. Maud pleads with the young woman to stop seeing her patient. Maud insists this is the only way for Amanda to begin her journey to salvation.
What transpires between the three – Maud’s slipping into Amanda’s perverse lifestyle, then lashing out at God for forsaking her (and what comes next) – is exhausting. Some have called Glass’ film a slam against Catholicism. That is only if you look at the story on the surface. This is about obsession and the lengths people go to and it’s downright frightening. This is about flawed people and those that spiral into their troubled psychosis. At the same time, there are religious depictions in the film that shore up Maud’s convictions.
Morfydd Clark as Maud and Jennifer Ehle as Amanda deliver Oscar-worthy performance that are bound to be overlooked as has been in the past with other hard to watch performances such as Toni Collette for Hereditary and Florence Pugh for Midsommar. Rose Glass’ writing and directing is both fascinating and eerily hypnotic. Once again, this is a slow burn that can be difficult to watch due to the unsettling nature of it all. But, for those that are open to a good dare, you will not be disappointed.
A24 continues to deliver daring, provocative content that can make the most jaded viewer squirm. Saint Maud is available for free to Amazon Prime, Epix and Hulu subscribers. The film will probably be coming soon to the home video market since it has already had a U.K. release.
Visit Ray’s blog at themonsterinmyhead.com
