(Streamed via Paramount+)
Maud (Morfydd Clark) is a home hospice healthcare worker tending to the needs of a former dancer (Jennifer Ehle) stricken with terminal cancer. It soon becomes apparent Maud is more than a little touched. Devoutly religious, Maud fears her hedonistic patient is in danger of going to Hell, and she sets out to do anything in her power to prevent that from happening.
Saint Maud has a great set-up that first at makes it feel like it’s going to be one of those ‘90s thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. However, it doesn’t take very long for it to dovetail into some very different territory. Fortunately, writer/director Rose Glass changes gears so subtly that you never quite notice the slight of hand at work.
I hesitate to get into spoiler territory, so I will try to keep this review as brief as possible. The second half is pretty wild and features moments that reminded me of everything from Taxi Driver to The Exorcist to Carrie. Somehow, Glass manages to make all those nods feel organic and fresh and not just a filmed checklist of tried-and-true horror tropes.
Saint Maud never quite steps over the line into balls out horror, but whenever it tiptoes around those parameters, it’s often very effective. It’s less an arthouse horror show and more of a character study of a sad, broken, and possibly insane loner on a slow, painful, and tragic journey to an inevitable, horrific fate. The reason all this works as well as it does is because of Clark’s performance. Like Sissy Spacek in Carrie, you feel for her every step of the way, even though you know she’s going to pull some heavy shit in the final reel. It’s a powerhouse performance that keeps the movie afloat, even through its draggier passages, and makes it well-worth watching, even if it isn’t exactly a home run. Sometimes (especially in October), a ground-rule double is all you need.
No comments:
Post a Comment