Saint Maud

Saint Maud – 2021 British psychological horror film. Written and directed by Rose Glass in her feature directorial debut. Opens theatrically in the US on Friday, January 29, 2021. Hospice nurse Maud, portrayed by Morfydd Clark, a recent convert to Roman Catholicism, becomes obsessed with a former dancer in her care, Jennifer Ehle, feeling that she must save her soul. 

This is an independent film with a small budget, and Glass works extremely well within these parameters to create a murky and ominous mood. Glass uses the location of Amanda’s house to great effect, reveling in creepy moments of stillness, where the halls and stairways yawn around the quivering intense young nurse. The wallpaper is Victorian-busy, as are the floor tiles. The color scheme is very controlled, with an almost underwater gleam, greenish and dark, light struggling to make it through the thick mottled windows. Liquid is an ongoing motif, dripping from faucets, rolling in from the ocean, bubbling on the stove—greens and reds, soapy water down the drain, a strange cyclone suddenly erupting in a glass of beer. Reality is unpredictable seen through Maud’s sleep-deprived eyes. 

Clark’s performance is central. Maud is most alarming when she is trying to be “normal,” when she attempts to be social. Nothing “comes off” right. People back away. Some of the scenes call to mind Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver,” trying to talk to Peter Boyle or the other taxi drivers. It is now impossible to hide his true nature from others. Maud is the epitome of “too much.” In one scene, she smiles at people sitting at the next table in a pub, and they recoil a little bit. That girl … why is she staring at us? Why is she smiling like that? What is wrong with her?

.

 

 

1 thought on “Saint Maud”

Comments are closed.