Overview
Having recently found God, self-effacing young nurse Maud arrives at a plush home to care for Amanda, a hedonistic dancer left frail from a chronic illness. When a chance encounter with a former colleague throws up hints of a dark past, it becomes clear there is more to sweet Maud than meets the eye.
Debut writer director Rose Glass follows a recent convert to Roman Catholicism, Maud (Morfydd Clark), a hospice nurse who becomes obsessed with Amanda (Jennifer Ehle) a forever dancer she is placed in care of. However, something isn’t right with Maud, and her past has an air of mystery to it. In addition, she appears to be having visions or hearing the voice of god, guiding her to do things.
Whilst the film doesn’t especially play anything we haven’t seen before, the film is no less of an impact because of it. Morfydd is absolutely engaging as Maud, and the film slowly builds from the normality of the small seaside town she lives in, the mundanity of her life, to the uneasy feeling that something isn’t right in a deft manner. Little tricks of the lens of small effects work create a growing sense of unease, and the final act comes swift and shocking, leaving a lasting impression that stays with you afterwards.