SAINT MAUD (2020)

REVIEW BY: ROBERT CHANDLER

Rose Glass’ directorial debut, SAINT MAUD, which she also wrote, is superb. The weight of God, faith, doubt and the Devil are brought to bear on a vulnerable and disturbed, pious twenty-something nurse. 

Morfydd Clark is excellent as Katy / Maud, the nurse afflicted or blessed with ecstatic feelings about the Lord; while Jennifer Ehle is on great form as Amanda Köhl, a once-famous dancer, dying, in need of palliative care.

Maud believes in God enough to be able to enter a state of spiritual delirium and hear His words, do His bidding. Glass directs her film in a close, intimate way, with flashes of narrative ambiguity, and moments of horror - the elements combining to create an involving and unforgettable character study. 

On one level, it is a criticism of the invasive pressure of Catholicism; on another, a depiction of the ability of faith to transcend the mundane and see the hand of God at work in the world.

SAINT MAUD is an unconventional and extraordinary film that defies genre classification.

The film is released this week - I hope you get a chance to see it at a cinema before they all close!