“Forgive my impatience, but I hope you will reveal your plan for me soon. I can’t shake the feeling that you must have saved me for something greater than this.” This is how Maud (Morfydd Clark), a home nurse living in the seashore town of Scarborough, talks to God. She feels that God has given her the task of saving a soul. At the beginning of the film, we witness her failing to save the life of a patient in her care. After a few years, she had converted herself into a dedicated Roman Catholic. She is assigned to care for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a dancer and choreographer from the U.S. who is terminally ill with stage four lymphoma. Amanda surrounds herself with evidence of her old glory: posters of her dance recitals, her costumes and makeup. She’s in the middle of one final romantic relationship, with Carol, a young woman she met online (Lily Frazer). Maud felt worried. “Saint Maud” feels like it is about a power struggle between Maud and Carol for the heart of Amanda. But “Saint Maud” takes a turn. This story is not about Maud and Amanda, not really. It is about Maud alone, and when Amanda rejects conversation with her publicly, her deterioration is rapid. This is not an anti-religious film either. Religion is just a tool here. Something bad happened to Maud when a patient died under her in the past. Later, she became god-lover for her comfort.
When she started taking care of Amanda, she felt that she had a chance to rectify her past mistakes. But after Amanda rejected her, all hopes were shattered. It’s exciting when newcomers like Glass arrive with a new vision, particularly when the vision is eccentric, difficult, and strange. This story has been told before. It’s a continuum of stories of religious mortification, obsession, and torment. By keeping the film a character study—as opposed to a plot-driven story of an avenging angel/demon—”Saint Maud” is less about religion and more about Maud’s existential loneliness. 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?
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