★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Written and Directed by Rose Glass
Saint Maud is a film I have been looking forward to for a long time. It debuted at festivals in 2019 to lots of critical buzz and was slated to hit theaters early 2020 but it had to be pushed back (thanks Covid!) and finally is seeing the light of day. Let me tell you, this film was worth the wait!
Written and directed by Rose Glass, Saint Maud is the story of Katie (Morfydd Clark), a nurse who becomes a devout catholic and begins to refer to herself as Maud after losing a patient. After a time, she takes a job as a live in caretaker for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle) a former dancer and choreographer with stage four lymphoma. As the two become close Amanda confides in Maud the fears she has of dying and Maud becomes convinced that God ‘s plan for her is to save Amanda’s soul. However, Maud takes things too far when she bans Amanda’s lover Carol from the house, afraid the relationship is ruining Amanda’s chance at salvation, and is fired.
Believing that God has forsaken her and left with out a soul to save Maud reverts to the promiscuous behavior of her prior life as Katie until she receives a sign from God that all is not lost and she only needs to pass one more test…
This film is the A24 to the Nth degree and brought to you by the letters “M-O-O-D-Y”. If you want non-stop action and over the top gore you’re in the wrong place, but if it’s stellar performances, dark, intense WTF moments and a final shot that will leave you in awe, then Rose Glass has answered your prayers.