St, Maud: A Review

Christian beliefs against the power of some sort of satanic force is a trope that we have seen time after time in the horror genre.  It's one of the most prevalent themes. While we do get some films that explore the Christian belief taken toward an extreme devotion (the films The Mist and Carrie come to mind), I would be hard pressed to think of many films that treat the Christian faith as our driving force for the terror we are about to witness through the films run time as the film Saint Maud does.  That being said, at no time does the film present itself as a criticism of Christian faith or provide a negative commentary towards it.  The film, instead, is a deep psychological look into the life of a broken woman who takes her faith to far. 

Saint Maud is writer/director Rose Glass and follows the titular character of Maud (played by the terrific Morfydd Clark), a nurse and recent convert into Christianity, as she begins the hospice care of an old professional dancer named Amanda.  Maud lives by a path very pious and devoted Christian faith that drives her entire life after going through some trauma from a previous job experience that is only hinted at during the film.  So much so that we are quick to find that Maud's narration during the film is meant to be her speaking to God and she goes through some sexual orgasmic ecstasy after prayer claiming she can "feel God."  It's through this devotion that Maud is inspired that it must be her life's goal to convert Amanda to the faith after Amanda and Maud seem to form a close relationship. While we are witness to many scares and horrific images during the films run time, one is left asking, "Are these events happening, or are they all in Maud's head?"

This is important as the film is a psychological study of Maud.  We come to find out that she changed her name from Katie and based off some peoples descriptions of her, she used to live a sort of "wild life" and its insinuated she was sexually promiscuous and would go home from the bar with different men all the time before her conversion of faith.  You get the sense that Maud is a very lonely individual that is desperate for some sort of human interaction or control over her own life.  This is evident in her very obsessive-compulsive tendencies of placing her medical in a precise order to how she folds towels and lays things out.  She stumbles through a bar about half-way through the film just trying to hook up with any guy she can and has an awkward interaction where she tries to laugh with a group of people in the bar, that she is not part of, and they obviously are unnerved by her intrusion.  This helps explains why Maud's relationship with her faith is so important as she is someone who desperately wants to find some purpose and even some love in her life, and she finds that her faith will do that.  You feel that her self-harm in the name of her faith as a cry out for attention and her desperate attempts to make God love her.  The film also trudges on the territory that Maud may be struggling not only with her own identity, but her own sexuality.

We come to find out that Amanda, the woman that Maud cares for, is having a sexual relationship with a woman and that Amanda pays for her company.  Maud does her best to confront the woman and ask her to leave Amanda alone, with little avail and Maud is called out by Amanda.  The Christian faith that Maud has would make sense to view this as a "she doesn't agree with Amanda's sexual orientation" but instead you feel its more that Maud is jealous of the relationship that Amanda has with the other young woman as Maud feels a deep connection to Amanda.  This theme is only briefly explored in the first half of the film but does help reinforce the idea that Maud is a very lonely individual.

The film explained so far, only covers about the first act or so and as the film continues we see Maud struggle more and more and the religious imagery and iconography we see begins to ramp up with scenes normally involving a haunted house/demonic force movie.  Floating bodies, supernatural voices, distorted faces, and possession.  The viewer struggles with understanding if what we are seeing is real, or if it is all in Maud's head.  While the ending of the film can be taken a number of ways, the film ends on a gut punch that will be burned into your mind.

Saint Maud is a phenomenal psychological study of how a broken individual, desperate for some sort of acceptance and love in this world, can twist and corrupt their faith into a dark destructive devotion. 

Saint Maud is 4.5 out of 5 stars