Words Glenn Blomfield

Maudie is one of those movie surprises I get now and then, not knowing anything about it, seeing it cold with no expectations. I left the theatre being pleasantly enlightened in a magical movie experience. Maudie captured my feelings and emotions connecting with those on screen. This a cracker of a film, that is worth the time discovering.

A true story about a Canadian Folk Art painter Maud Lewis, is luscious set in a small simple village by the seaside. This charming film touches characters carrying complicated weights on their conscious. A love story between Maud (Sally Hawkins) crippled by arthritis, she takes on an unappealing housekeepers job for an angry tempered loner Everett (Ethan Hawke). A relationship that is thwart with complications, that chips away at their exteriors.

Sally Hawkins is Oscar gold, and Ethan Hawke is a wonder to behold, in what is a noticeable performance that will surprise many, garnering much attention. Feelings run deep in this emotionally driven dramatic display. The winning formula in this film is in its ability of simplicity; dialogue and communication are limited but never underutilised. The lead characters living in a humble tiny home right next to a road, that seems devoid of any traffic. a world micro in size. Maud finds solace in her naive artistic cocoon, while struggling to paint through her embattling arthritis and crippling health.

Her Art captures a following and fame to the outside world. Everett is a brutal character juxtaposed to Maud, a relationship that for all reasons should not be, but a love story that takes you on a journey, where there is discovery of happiness against all odds. Maudie, is directed with the frame in mind, moments of imagery, capturing a stillness of photography, that draws you into its composition of silence. The film successfully encapsulates its artistic attentions, elegantly and simply. Hopefully you will fall in love with Maudie, in her Art, her world, and happiness that can be only found in the most humble of places.