Saint Maud
studio canal
One of Saint Maud’’s greatest successes lies within its ambiguity. The story follows a young Roman Catholic nurse, Maud, who believes God has asked her to save the soul of the woman she is currently caring for. As the plot unravels, however, and more of Maud’s psyche is revealed it becomes clear that things aren’t as straightforward as they seem. This results in an intriguing and genuinely original concept that ends by tying up everything with a neat bow, while also leaving several questions unanswered. Upon inspection, there are multiple possibilities to what could genuinely have happened during the film, but it’s more than likely that the darkest option is the truest. What one takes from the film is probably dependent on their mindset, although it’s nigh on impossible to escape its general sense of dread.
For her first time out, writer and director Rose Glass shows some potential. However, some directorial choices feel like a cry to be recognised as someone with artistic intent. Several shots featuring upside down camera angles look purely student-like and seem to add nothing particular to the scene. The script feels slightly stronger than her directorial style, although Morfydd Clark –who plays Maud – almost single handedly elevates things and proves herself to be the film’s second greatest success. It’s to Clark’s credit that Maud is such a consistently compelling and interesting character – she is a performer who captures your attention and refuses to let go, indulging and immersing herself even in the most mundane scenes.
One of the most tense scenes of the film involves Maud in a bar, getting drunk and attempting to flirt. The reason this seemingly normal moment becomes so unsettling and uncomfortable is that Clark depicts Maud as out of place and reality; watching her interactions with other people highlights both how isolated and how fragile she is. It almost seems like it could have been a stylistic choice to surround Clark with a cast who are nowhere near as good – most only have a handful of small credits to their name. Perhaps Glass truly did intend for the poor supporting cast to elevate Clark’s performance, but the actual explanation leans more towards the fact that they were the best she could get.
Frustratingly, Maud is so compelling it becomes annoying that her often mentioned and hinted at backstory – aka ‘the incident’ – is never fully fleshed out. The only real flashback towards it culminates in a gory jumpscare rather than anything substantial, and almost renders the whole mysterious past pointless, as the rest of the plot actually chugs along just fine without it.
It’s hard to talk about this film without drawing praise towards Clark. It’s also hard to imagine Saint Maud being particularly memorable without her. The film is littered with genuinely haunting imagery, but most of it is down to Clark once again; her face is a work of intermingling beauty and horror during the scenes she is being communicated to. It is typically Clark who keeps interest within the frame purely by looking so interesting. Despite a well-crafted take on an Exorcist-esque storyline, it is plausible that Glass’ directorial debut would’ve fallen short if not for the talent of her lead actress and upcoming star, Morfydd Clark. It certainly will be interesting to see where both of them go next.